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Among China's 1.3 billion people, there's one name that first comes to mind when the words "roast duck" are mentioned: Quanjude. Ask the Chinese what a visit to the nation's capital should involve and they will tell you that two things must be achieved: climb theGreat Walland eat a roast duck at Quanjude.

 The origin of Quanjude

China was one of the first countries to domesticate ducks for the table. Duck-cooking methods include steaming, boiling, stewing, roasting, frying, and so on. Among them, the most famous is roasting which was developed in the imperial kitchens of theQing Dynasty(1644-1911) palace. Among many roast duck restaurants, Quanjude is the most popular.

In 1864 Yang Quanren, a man who lived on selling chickens and ducks, bought a food shop called Dejuquan at Qianmen, one of the most busy and popular streets inBeijing. At the advice of a feng shui master, Yang reversed the three characters of the food shop name to Quanjude and opened his roast duck business. For Yang Quanren, this was a good name, not only because a character of his name - Quan -- was included, but also because the new name meant "Storehouse of All Virtues" in Chinese.

Yang Quanren heard that chef Sun, who used to serve in the palace, had then retired. With great efforts, Yang Quanren managed to invite Sun to work for his new restaurant. Sun then improved the structure of stove, so as to roast more ducks at one time. Soon after, Quanjude's reputation spread all over the country and ever since has been associated with Beijing Duck.

 Splendiddietary culture

While many have heard of "Peking Duck," few realize that the Quanjude restaurant has a menu list of over 400 dishes consisting entirely of duck. Of course there are the mainstays, like the famous Quanjude Roasted Duck, Quanjude Mustard Duck Web, Quanjude Boiled Duck Liver, Quanjude Seasoned Duck Gizzard, Quanjude Shredded Duck Wing, and Quanjude Quick Fried Duck Heart. But there are also pages and pages of more unusual duck selections. There's a duck dish for every body part: tongues, livers, skin, gizzards, breasts, and the appetizing duck-feet webs. Even the duck egg is included in the menu as a dish named "Crystal Duck."