Liu Guixian (standing), late founder of Yuebin Restaurant, the country's first private restaurant after China's reform and opening up

For Liu Guixian, September 30, 1980, was an auspicious day. On that day, Yuebin Restaurant opened. Then, people waited in a long queue to eat in the small restaurant, situated on Cuihua Lane, in Beijing's Dongcheng District. Today, 43 years later, the restaurant continues to prosper. Customers, lured to Yuebin by its reputation, are greeted by a young woman wearing glasses. That woman is Guo Hua, Liu's granddaughter. 

Since she was born, Guo has had a deep bond with the restaurant. When she studied in primary school, she often spent her weekends helping Yuebin's employees pick vegetables and peel shrimp. In early 2015, Guo took over Yuebin, which had been run by her father Guo Hongli. 

Guo Hua, Liu Guixian's granddaughter

Sparing No Effort

"Every time my grandma shared her 'old story' with me, I treasure my happy life, which was created by my seniors, through painstaking efforts," recalls Guo Hua.

With four sons and a daughter, Liu and her husband Guo Peiji were hard up before they opened Yuebin. Liu made up her mind to change that. She decided to open a restaurant, as she and her husband had been cooks in canteens. By opening a restaurant, Liu believed she and her husband could guarantee their children a living.

Yuebin Restaurant

Having Firsthand Experience at Yuebin

On September 30, 1980, Liu opened Yuebin. At that time, there were only a handful of State-run cafeterias in Beijing. As the sensational news spread about China's first privately run restaurant, Yuebin grew in popularity. A few months after Liu opened Yuebin, private enterprises began to appear in China.

During the first several months after they established the restaurant, Liu was interviewed by more than 100 reporters from around the world. Those journalists were trying to have a firsthand experience at the restaurant.

As business flourished, the small restaurant was unable to accommodate all of the customers. Twelve years later, Liu and Guo Hongli opened a branch restaurant, Yuexian Restaurant, about 200 meters down the road. "Although my small restaurants are situated on the quiet lane, my business is still booming. Most of our customers are frequenters of our restaurants," said Liu during a previous interview. "As the Chinese saying goes, 'Good wine needs no bush.' We never cheat our customers with shoddy products.

"My grandmother always said she was lucky that she lived in a good age, and that she and my grandfather could change their lives by cooking delicious foods for customers. Over the decades … people throughout the country have benefited from the national policy of reform and opening up, and, as a result, the people have lived in peace and plenty," says Guo Hua. 

Inheriting Yuebin

On November 1, 2022, the State Council, the Chinese Government's cabinet, rolled out regulations to promote the development of China's self-employed businesses. On that afternoon, Guo Hua, the third-generation owner of Yuebin Restaurant, received a business license with her name written on it, completing the legal transfer of the right to run Yuebin, her family's business. She became the first self-employed individual (in the country) to benefit from the regulations.

"The regulations matter a great deal to us private business owners, as we can change our businesses' operators directly. Previously, to change a business operator (of an enterprise), one had to cancel the enterprise's former business license. If that happens, the history of Yuebin, our time-honored restaurant, will be canceled," says Guo Hua.

She is pleased to note the rising social status of self-employed individuals. "Given the promulgation of the regulations, we can compete for projects and/or apply for loans from banks, like companies do," says Guo Hua.

She is confident about Yuebin's future. "We will develop new dishes, while preserving traditional ones," Guo Hua has been quoted as saying.

Photos Supplied by Interviewee  

(Women of China English Monthly December 2023 issue)