People serving food in the restaurant have night glasses.

You put your hand on the person in front and are led to your table in utter darkness for a most unusual dining experience. Smoking is banned. So are flashlights, matches, cigarette lighters and luminous watches.

Many people in Beijing are keen to try the unusual dining experience on offer at a special new restaurant called "Jingyu Du", which literally translates to "the stomach of a whale". The restaurant only opened in the New Year but it's already known for its unique atmosphere.

The entire interior of the restaurant is black, with not an iota of light allowed to infiltrate. Waiters wearing night glasses lead customers to their tables. Even the floor has been specially built to assist people who are deprived of their sight. Diners eat their whole meal in pitch blackness and have to rely on the waiters' guidance if they need to go to the bathroom.

Located in the upscale Jianwai SOHO area, the restaurant has been very popular because many people want to experience the excitement of eating in the dark. When their eyes are deprived of sight, other senses are heightened, as people's noses, ears, tongues and imaginations go into overdrive to help them decipher their environment.

Waiting area

The world's first completely dark restaurant, the Blind Cow, was opened in Zurich, Switzerland. The owner of the Swiss restaurant, Rev. Jorge Spielmann is blind. He hopes his restaurant will serve both the blind and the sighted by uniting them in a common sensory dining experience.