Starbucks Replaced in Forbidden City

Boy, bet this will be a hit. I'd be willing to wager that this place doesn't last two years (and two years because the government will prop up a losing enterprise for a long time) before they have to bring in another foreign vendor.

A new coffee shop opened last week inside the Palace Museum, located exactly at the same place where a controversial Starbucks coffee shop had situated for seven years.

With wooden tables, wooden chairs and pictures featuring Chinese culture, the "Forbidden City Cafe" serves not only coffee, but also traditional Chinese beverage such as tea.

"Different from the Starbucks coffee shop, the Palace Museum is the managerial authority of the cafe," Beijing Daily quoted Li Wenru, deputy curator of the Forbidden City, as saying.

In a separate interview with the Beijing Youth Daily, the deputy curator emphasized that the "Forbidden City Cafe" is only part of a store which mainly sells souvenirs to tourists.

"We want to provide tourists with a package of products relating to imperial palace and Chinese culture," Li said.

The crazy thing is, this area is filled with tacky tourists shops selling some of the worst looking junk you can imagine. Starbucks upgraded the place.