Dining still exquisite at the Great Hall

About three decades ago, my husband attended a State banquet at the Great Hall of the People in honor of a visiting head of state. China was just at the beginning of its great transition from planned to market economy then, and the journalists were awed by the opulent spread at the table.

They were especially puzzled by pieces of a dried root that appeared in their chicken soup and had wondered aloud if it was some kind of exotic ginger. It was, of course, ginseng - a rare ingredient at that time.

The dinner was also accompanied by a live military band that played throughout the evening.