A Beijing pastry shop visited by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, on a lunar new year tour this week has been swarmed by customers hoping to get their hands on Xi-approved sweet treats.
Traffic was brought to a standstill in Beijing’s capital as the president took a tour around the city on Monday and Tuesday.
As well as visiting technology parks and business leaders, Xi dropped by a Chinese new year market in central Beijing’s Dongcheng district. The nine-day celebrations, the biggest holiday in China’s calendar, officially start on Sunday.
While at the festive market, Xi picked up a 45 yuan (£4.79) bundle of delicacies from Daoxiangcun, a historic bakery known for its traditional snacks.
According to the shopkeeper interviewed by Chinese media, Xi plumped for three items: honey-glazed dough twists, cream-filled dough twists and jujube flower pastries, a flakey, flower-shaped cookie with a filling made from red dates. Dough twists are made from fried pastry and are a popular local snack in Beijing.
The shop has since been overrun by shoppers keen to get a slice of the Xi-approved pies.
One customer, Zhao, bought 16 bags of the snacks, which are now being pre-packaged into Xi-themed triples. She told a reporter: “These are the same new year’s goods recommended by the general secretary, and people really like them. I want to buy some to give to my friends.”
Xi is the general secretary of the Chinese Communist party (CCP), as well as being China’s president and the commander of the armed forces.
Daoxiangcun said its stores had to restock pastries to accommodate hungry and patriotic customers.
Xi also visited a store called Yili Bakery and bought a 14 yuan loaf of fruit bread. He reportedly said that he had enjoyed Yili’s butter rolls as a child in Beijing’s hutongs, the traditional alleyways that crisscross the capital’s historic centre.
Xi’s personal tastes have often inspired imitations. In 2022, there was a viral trend among young people on social media of wearing “office and bureau style clothes”, ie the plain attire of a CCP bureaucrat, a tongue-in-cheek homage to the CCP’s highest-ranking cadre, the general secretary.
Additional research by Lillian Yang
