A restaurant in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province features
a poster of Chairman Mao to promote their honesty.
"In the name of Chairman Mao we promise all dishes on the menu
are half-price," reads a poster hanging outside the entrance of a
restaurant in Nanjing that has a portrait of the former national
leader.
Highlighting slogans from the Cultural Revolution, this newly
opened restaurant makes people feel like they're back in the 60s
and 70s.
"I hate falsehoods, so I promise in the name of Chairman Mao we
are indeed honest," the owner told the Modern Express.
Other banners include: "Work hard with quality to catch up with
Britain and the United States in 15 years," and "We're all
proletarian brothers, sorry to make you pay" at the cashier
desk.
The interior furnishings are also designed to remind customers
of the early days after the New China was founded, when people all
around the country worked hard to earn enough to eat. "We painted
the walls with paint mixed with straw to make them look old," said
a waiter in a Red Army uniform.
Some middle-aged diners like the style of the restaurant.
"People were all simple-minded at that time. They seldom told a
lie," said a woman surnamed Zhang. "If someone makes a promise to
Chairman Mao, he was telling the truth. You should know that
Chairman Mao was our idol and nobody would dare cheat on him," she
went on with a laugh. Zhang added that she believed the restaurant
would be credible since they promised to the Chairman.
The revolutionary banners don't appeal to all the customers,
though. A passer-by surnamed Song dislikes this way of promoting
the restaurant, accusing the eatery of sullying Chairman Mao's
name.
A staff member with Nanjing's industry and commerce
administration said they allowed businesses to reminisce about the
past, but the commercial use of portraits of national leaders was
illegal according to the country's advertising law, and said they
would inspect the restaurant later.
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(China Daily June 22, 2007)
