Ting Li Guan

Ting Li Guan

Ting Li Guan is a historic Chinese time-honored brand known for imperial-style cuisine. It is a national top-tier restaurant, a five-star establishment recognized by the Beijing Municipal Tourism Administration, and a renowned Chinese medicinal cuisine restaurant. It is famous for serving authentic imperial dishes, Manchu-Han Imperial Feast, imperial court banquets, birthday feasts for royalty, and nourishing medicinal meals. The name “Ting Li Guan” (literally “Listening to Orioles Pavilion”) comes from the comparison of the oriole’s song to the beauty of music. Established during the Qianlong reign, it was a place where Empress Dowager Cixi often enjoyed opera and music performances. Its plaque was personally inscribed by Cixi. Located within the world-famous royal garden, the Summer Palace, Ting Li Guan was designated after the founding of the People’s Republic of China as a venue exclusively for receiving high-ranking Chinese officials and foreign dignitaries. Mr. Pu Jie, a member of the Qing imperial family, once inscribed the words “Imperial Birthday Banquet” for the restaurant.

Ting Li Guan is situated in the world-renowned royal garden, the Summer Palace, which features over 3,000 structures of various forms including palaces, pavilions, towers, terraces, corridors, and verandas. Ting Li Guan is one of the thirteen key buildings, located at the southern foot of Longevity Hill. It faces the rippling waters of Kunming Lake across the Long Corridor and backs onto the famous “Painting on the Water” scenic spot on Longevity Hill. Surrounded by lush bamboo, the setting is delightful. At that time, it served as an important venue where Empress Dowager Cixi and her favored ministers enjoyed music and entertainment. The name “Ting Li Guan,” meaning “Listening to Orioles Pavilion,” stems from likening the oriole’s song to the elegance of music. The plaque was inscribed personally by Empress Dowager Cixi.

As a famed imperial-style restaurant, Ting Li Guan has, for many years, drawn upon the imperial menu from the Summer Palace’s Longevity Kitchen. Through research, refinement, and innovation, it now offers a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast that combines the culinary essence of both cultures, a “Longevity Without Bounds” banquet promoting health and vitality, a “Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity, and Happiness” feast symbolizing good fortune, a “Longevity and Wellness” banquet focused on nutrition and health, as well as all-fish banquets, all-quail feasts, and various functional medicinal meals. Additionally, the traditional live preparation of large carp from Kunming Lake never ceases to amaze guests. Ting Li Guan boasts strong culinary expertise and exceptional skills, highlighting imperial flavors in its dishes, which are vibrant in color, delicious in taste, exquisitely presented, and highly favored by domestic and international visitors.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Ting Li Guan was designated as a venue exclusively for receiving central government leaders and foreign dignitaries. It has hosted Chinese party and state leaders as well as prominent figures such as Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Secretary of State Shultz. The first National Political Consultative Conference was hosted by Ting Li Guan.

The term “Imperial Birthday Banquet” refers to ancient royal feasts. According to records in the “Shang Si Magazine,” there were eight courtyards in the “Longevity Kitchen” in the Summer Palace where meals for Empress Dowager Cixi were prepared, employing over 120 chefs (eunuchs). Whenever she celebrated her birthday in the garden, grand banquets were held to entertain princes, dukes, princesses, and noblewomen—“spending millions daily, with non-stop song and dance.”

In recent years, Ting Li Guan has developed hundreds of dishes across several major categories of imperial birthday banquets based on the menus from the Qing dynasty “Longevity Kitchen.” In developing these dishes, emphasis has been placed on highlighting “imperial flavors” while preserving an “ancient” essence. By thoughtfully combining rare delicacies and game, and utilizing modern cooking equipment along with the chefs’ exquisite skills, dishes have been created that retain an ancient style while aligning with contemporary nutritional science. Each dish is made with carefully selected ingredients, fine craftsmanship, vivid colors, lifelike presentation, rich yet fresh flavors, tender texture, and light seasoning—all while being highly nutritious.

When night falls, Ting Li Guan is illuminated by grand palace lanterns, offering a magnificent setting. The banquet hall is arranged in an imperial style, complete with classic antique tables, chairs, tableware, and waitstaff dressed in Qing-style costumes. Dining here on the Emperor’s feast will leave you with wonderful memories.

Ting Li Guan Restaurant covers an area of over 6,000 square meters, with a business area of more than 2,700 square meters. The restaurant includes eight dining rooms of various sizes: the “Longevity Dining Hall,” “Fortune & Longevity Dining Hall,” “Noble & Longevity Dining Hall,” and “Medicinal Cuisine Dining Hall,” among others. It can accommodate over 500 guests simultaneously. The dining rooms feature carved beams and painted rafters, hanging palace lanterns, and classic redwood furniture in antique style, exuding the grandeur of a royal setting. Ting Li Guan’s unique operating environment provides diners with both an aesthetic experience and a sense of prestige. In recent years, it has hosted numerous large-scale and important banquet events.