New day for dining

Change is a given in Beijing's restaurant scene, but this spring it's come in a big way to three of the capital's most prestigious dining rooms, Mike Peters reports.

Sun Yat-sen and his wife dined here. So did the Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw. Chairman Mao hosted visiting heads of state and welcomed Chinese writers, and Premier Zhou Enlai ate and drank with US envoy Henry Kissinger.

With a broad facade on Chang'an Avenue, the Beijing Hotel has a long, proud history, built in 1917 in the architectural style of 17th-century France. In the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, a 10-year management contract was awarded to Raffles in 2006, and under that prestigious chain's wing the French restaurant Jaan (derived from the ancient Sanskrit word for "bowl") was widely lauded for its ambiance and cuisine.