Top Ten Time-honored Brands in China:

1. Zhang Yiyuan (Tea House)

Zhang Yiyuan Tea House was founded by Zhang Wenqing, a native of Dingtan Village, She County, Anhui Province. In the 22nd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1896), a tea stall was set up on Huashi Street, and in the 26th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, the "Zhang Yuyuan" teahouse was opened. In the 34th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1908), Zhang Wenqing purchased a house in the south of Yinsi Street outside Qianmen and opened a shop with a front door, named "Zhang Yiyuan" Tea House. It means "one yuan returns to the beginning and everything is renewed", which also means "the market opens with good luck and changes with each passing day". Soon it moved to a three-front store on the north side of Guanyin Temple Street for business. In 1912, Zhang Wenqing opened "Zhang Yiyuan Wenji Tea House" in Dashilar. The word "文" indicates that it was opened by Zhang Wenqing, and the three teahouses are mainly owned by Zhang Yiyuan's Wenji. After the tea house opened, it became famous for its high quality due to its superior location and proper management.

2. Rongbaozhai (pen, ink, paper and inkstone)

The predecessor was "Songzhuzhai", which was first built in the 11th year of Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1672 AD) and later in the second year of Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty. In the tenth year (AD 1894), it was renamed Rongbaozhai and it has a long history of more than 300 years. Rongbaozhai is located on Liulichang West Street outside Hepingmen in Beijing. It has always been a place where people in the calligraphy and painting circles gather, communicate and enjoy intercourse. Lu Xun, Zheng Zhenduo, Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong and other famous masters often paid attention to and supported it. Over the past hundreds of years, this old store has gone through many vicissitudes of life. Initially, it specialized in the Four Treasures of the Study, and then moved on to self-printed letterheads and poems, as well as distribution of celebrity calligraphy and paintings, and antiques. The "Jin Shen" (official directory), "Twenty-Four Festival Notes" and "Seventy-two Hourly Notes" published in the late Qing Dynasty were once famous in the capital. After the Opium War, it was difficult to maintain Songzhuzhai. The owner hired Zhuang Huchen, a well-known scholar from the capital of Guangzhou, as the manager. In 1894, he changed the name of the store to Rongbaozhai, which means "making friends through literature, honor is a treasure", and invited Lu Runxiang, a famous calligrapher at the time (the number one scholar of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty). There is a large-character plaque inscribed "Rongbaozhai". In 1950, a public-private partnership formed and "Rongbaozhai Xinji" was born. In the past 50 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Beijing Rongbaozhai has received extensive support from the government and all walks of life, and has created and accumulated countless spiritual and material wealth. Especially in the past thirty years, the country has promoted various reforms and opening up to the outside world with economic construction as the center. During this period, Beijing Rongbaozhai has expanded its business areas and business channels on the basis of developing traditional business, and has established operations in Shandong, Zhejiang, Distribution offices have been set up in Sichuan, Liaoning, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hubei, Jilin and other places to strengthen domestic commercial and cultural activities.

3. Ma Juyuan (Hat Shop)

There was a jingle in the old Beijing era, the first sentence of which is: Wear Ma Juyuan on your head. Majuyuan is a hat shop that produces and sells its own hats. It was just a small stall at first. In the 16th year of the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, in 1811 AD, people from Maqiao, Zhili, opened the Majuyuan Hat Shop in his name at the south of Xianyukou Middle Road outside Qianmen. The owner, Ma Juyuan, is very good at business. In order to meet the needs of all walks of life, he develops hats that can be worn by everyone from the palace to the common people. In the capital city at that time, everyone was proud to have their hat. Later, after being recommended by an official named Zhang, Ma Juyuan made tasseled hats for the Qing government, and the hat shop was transformed into an "official hat shop" that specialized in serving aristocratic bureaucrats. In the late Qing Dynasty, Ma Juyuan Hat Shop was known as the leader of Beijing's hat industry. After the Qing Dynasty, Ma Juyuan switched to making melon-skin hats and general helmets. The reason why it is famous in Beijing's Forty-Nine City is that its hat-making materials are genuine, only new and easy to use, and its craftsmanship is exquisite. The melon-skin caps made by him are made of Tibetan yak tail, saffron is used for coloring, and the satin is the highest-grade element satin produced by Nanjing Yuanxing Satin Factory.

4. Clay Figurine Zhang (Colored Sculpture)

A collection of folk art, the Clay Figurine Zhang Colored Sculpture, one of the three unique things in Tianjin, is a wonderful flower in the garden. She has a distinctive The characteristics of realism art can truly depict the character's personality and posture; pursue anatomical structure, exaggerate reasonably, and make appropriate choices; use of color, unique ingenuity, and both form and spirit.

Clay figurine Zhang Cai Sculpture is a folk art that is deeply loved by the people. It was founded during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty and has been spread and developed for 180 years. During this period, after several periods of creation, development, prosperity, endangerment, and further development, as well as several twists and turns, the clay figurine Zhang painted sculpture art gradually matured and was recognized by the people, the court, and even the world. Extremely endearing.

5. Quanjude (Roast Duck Restaurant)

Founded in 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty), it has achieved considerable development through the entrepreneurial efforts of several generations of Quanjude people. In January 1999, "Quanjude" was recognized as a "well-known trademark" by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, becoming my country's first Chinese well-known trademark in the service category. "You are not a true man unless you have visited the Great Wall, and it would be a pity not to eat Quanjude Roast Duck!" In more than a hundred years, Quanjude cuisine has been continuously innovated and developed, with the unique Quanjude Roast Duck as the leader, including the "Whole Duck Banquet" and more than 400 dishes. Quanjude cuisine, which combines several special dishes, is loved by heads of state, government officials, people from all walks of life and domestic and foreign tourists, and is known as "the best food in China". The late Premier Zhou Enlai of the People's Republic of China once selected Quanjude's "whole duck banquet" as a state banquet many times.

In May 1993, Quanjude Group was established in Beijing, China. In June 1994, Beijing Quanjude Roast Duck Co., Ltd. was established by six companies including Quanjude Group. In April 2004, Capital Tourism Group, Quanjude Group and New Yansha Group implemented strategic reorganization. Capital Tourism Group became the largest shareholder of Beijing Quanjude Roast Duck Co., Ltd. In January 2005, Beijing Quanjude Roast Duck Co., Ltd. changed its name to China Quanjude (Group) Co., Ltd. Immediately, China Quanjude (Group) Co., Ltd. acquired a further 30.91 stake in Jude Huatian Holdings Co., Ltd., becoming the largest shareholder of Jude Huatian Holdings Co., Ltd. alongside Beijing Huatian Catering Group. In April 2007, Beijing's famous time-honored catering companies Fangshan Restaurant, Fengzeyuan Hotel, and Sichuan Hotel also entered Quanjude Co., Ltd. So far, China Quanjude (Group) Co., Ltd. has developed into a company covering barbecue, grilling, shabu-shabu, Sichuan, Shandong, With multiple flavors such as palace and Beijing cuisine, the joint catering fleet brings together many time-honored catering brands in Beijing. Since the establishment of Quanjude Co., Ltd., it has adhered to Premier Zhou Enlai’s incisive interpretation of Quanjude’s “completeness, unity and never separation, and benevolence and morality first”, carried forward the enterprise spirit of “thinking about things, doing things, doing things, entrepreneurship, innovation and creating first-class”, and carried out down-to-earth development. Seven major innovation activities including system, mechanism, marketing, management, technology, corporate culture and spiritual civilization construction have been carried out, and the development strategy of giving full play to Quanjude's brand advantages and taking the road of large-scale, modern and chain operation has been established. For more than ten years, it has shaped its brand image with its unique food culture, actively explored domestic and overseas markets, and accelerated the expansion of chain operations. It has now formed a catering group with more than 70 Quanjude brand member companies, annual sales of more than 5 million roast ducks, more than 5 million guests, and a brand value of nearly 11 billion yuan.

6. "Goubuli" steamed buns

"Goubuli" was founded in 1858. During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a young man named Gao Guiyou in Yangcun, Wuqing County, Hebei Province (now Wuqing District, Tianjin City). Because his father had a son when he was forty, he gave him the nickname "Gouzi" in order to raise him safely, hoping that he would be as easy to raise as a puppy (according to northern customs, this name is full of simple and loving family affection). Gouzi came to Tianjin to study art at the age of fourteen and worked as a waiter at Liu's Steamed Food Shop on the edge of Tianjin's South Canal. Gouzi was ingenious and studious, and with the careful guidance of the masters, he became a noble friend in making steamed buns. He kept improving, mastered his skills, and soon became famous.

After completing his studies in three years, Gao Guiyou had mastered various techniques of making steamed buns, so he became independent and opened a snack shop specializing in steamed buns - "De Ju Hao". He uses a 3:7 ratio of fat to lean fresh pork, adds an appropriate amount of water, and serves it with pork rib soup or tripe soup, plus finely ground sesame oil, special soy sauce, minced ginger, minced green onion, MSG, etc., and carefully mixes it into a bun filling. The bun skin is made of semi-risen dough. After rolling into strips and adding ingredients, roll it into a round skin with a diameter of about 8.5 cm and a uniform thickness. Wrap in the fillings, pinch and fold carefully with your fingers, and twist the pleats with force at the same time. Each bun has 15 fixed pleats, and the pleats are uniformly dense, like a white chrysanthemum shape. Finally, it is steamed in the oven with hard air. Gao Guiyou is good at craftsmanship, conscientious in his work, and never adulterates. The steamed buns he makes are soft in texture, fresh and not greasy, shaped like chrysanthemums, and have unique color, flavor, and shape. People from all over the world come to eat steamed buns, and the business is very prosperous. Fame spread quickly.

As more and more people came to eat his steamed buns, Gao Guiyou was too busy to talk to the customers. As a result, the steamed bun eaters jokingly called him "a dog who sells steamed buns and ignores people." Over time, people took it easy and called him "Goubuli", and the steamed buns he sold were called "Goubuli steamed buns". However, the original store name was gradually forgotten by people.

7. Tongrentang (Chinese Medicine Store)

Beijing Tongrentang is a well-known time-honored brand in the Chinese medicine industry. It was founded in the eighth year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1669). During its more than 300 years of history, Tongrentang . Since the first year of Yongzheng (1721), Tongrentang has been officially dedicated to the Imperial Pharmacy of the Qing Dynasty. After eight generations of emperors, it lasted for 188 years. Tongrentang people adhere to the traditional and ancient adage that "no matter how complicated the preparation is, we will not save artificial taste and no matter how expensive it is, we will not save material resources." , establishing the self-discipline consciousness of "cultivate no one to see the intention but God knows it", ensuring the longevity of Tongrentang's golden sign. Tongrentang people are cautious and meticulous in the pharmaceutical process, and their products are famous at home and abroad for their "unique formula, superior material selection, exquisite workmanship, and remarkable efficacy."

8. Neiliansheng (shoe store)

Neiliansheng was founded by Zhao Ting in the third year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1853). The front store and the back factory are self-produced and sold. Zhao Ting is from Wuqing County, Hebei Province. He has been an apprentice in a boots and shoe shop in Dongsi Archway since he was a teenager. Learn a good trade. After he left the army, he got the help of General Ding, an official of the Qing Dynasty at that time, raised ten thousand taels of silver, and opened Neiliansheng boots and shoes store in Dongjiaomin Lane. He named it Neiliansheng, which means "big Nei". Boots can be upgraded to three levels.

After Neiliansheng opened, business was booming. There is an endless stream of people, including civil servants, military generals, and officials of all sizes, who come to Neiliansheng to order and buy court boots. The boots it makes are made of authentic materials, exquisite workmanship, and look good and comfortable to wear. The black satin produced in Nanjing was of the best quality at that time. It was characterized by its thickness, black and shiny color, and long-lasting lint-free quality, but it was expensive. Nei Liansheng is not afraid of spending more money, and also specializes in buying black satin from Nanjing. The soles of the boots made by Neiliansheng are 32 layers thick, but they are thick but not heavy; the black satin uppers are thick in texture and black in color. If it's stained with dust, gently brush it with a large velvet shoe wipe, and it will be clean and shiny. Such boots are comfortable to wear, light and silent when walking, making them appear stable and elegant. Every time Nei Lian Sheng orders a pair of boots, they measure the size and try them on until the customer is comfortable and satisfied with the fit. Even the dragon boots that Emperor Xuantong wore when he ascended the throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were made by Nei Liansheng and sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Zhao Tingshan runs the business. He believes that if he wants to make a lot of money, he must make plans for the people sitting in the sedan chair. To this end, he worked hard and came up with the "preparation for walking", which specifically recorded the size, style and special foot shape of the boots and shoes of princes, nobles and officials. In order to please their superiors, lower-level officials in the Qing Dynasty often went to Neiliansheng to customize boots for their superiors as gifts based on the data. The value of the boots produced by Neiliansheng doubled, and a pair could be sold for dozens of taels of silver.

9. Guangde Building (Theatre)

"Guangde Building" has a long and glorious history. It is an art venue built almost at the same time as the Paris Opera House in France, La Scala Theater in Italy, and the Bolshoi Theater in Russia. In the fourth volume of "Menghua Suobu" of "Jingchen Miscellaneous Records" written by Ruizhu in the Qing Dynasty, "Guangde Tower" was even ranked before the "Guanghe Tower", a famous theater built in the Ming Dynasty. It can be seen that "Guangde Tower" plays an extremely important role among many theaters in Beijing.

10. Duyichu (Shaomai Restaurant)

Duyichu Shaomai Restaurant was opened in the third year of Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1738). The founder’s surname was Li and he was originally from Shanxi. Duyichu Shaomai Restaurant was originally a small shop selling sesame cakes, fried tofu and shochu. It is commonly known as "Drunken Gourd". It got its name from the broken wine gourd hanging at the door. In the 17th year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1752), Emperor Qianlong paid a private visit incognito. I returned to Beijing late at night and ate at a wine shop, as it was the only one in Beijing that had not closed on New Year's Eve. The service was enthusiastic and Long Yan was very happy, so he sent the eunuch to give him a plaque and named him "Du Yi Chu". After Qianlong gave the plaque, many people came to see it, and the business was very prosperous. The wine business developed from white wine and Buddha's hand dew to five-chip peel, yin wine, rice wine, steamed wine, etc.; the dishes also developed from cold dishes to several Ten kinds of stir-fry dishes, including siomai, fried samosas, dumplings, pies, etc. After the public-private partnership in 1956, the store moved from the south of Xianyukou to a spacious new location north of Xianyukou.

The business area has been expanded to more than 200 square meters, and it can receive 2,000 to 3,000 people every day. Now the tiger-head plaque "Duyichu" inscribed by Emperor Qianlong hangs in the middle of the store, and the three bold and vigorous "Duyichu" characters written by Guo Moruo hang at the door. In 1996, Duyi was renovated and renovated, and it reopened on August 18, 1998. The newly opened Duyi has three halls and a restaurant for foreign guests. The first floor mainly sells ordinary shaomai, while the second and third floors sell mid-to-high-end shaomai and Shandong-style stir-fries. The shaomai not only uses fine ingredients and exquisite workmanship, but also has the characteristics of fresh and refreshing flavor, mellow noodles and not greasy. It has won honorable titles such as the "Golden Tripod Award" and "Chinese Famous Snacks" from the Ministry of Commerce.