Beijing former royal compound where you can dine like a king: Prince Shuncheng Mansion opens to the public

Beijing’s Prince Shuncheng Mansion, a 400-year-old former royal compound, has witnessed the tumultuous Qing dynasty, Japanese occupation and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Now, its back garden – full of serene fish ponds, ancient red-brick architecture and lush greenery – has opened to the public as dining venue, with a menu that includes snacks that were once served in ancient royal palaces.

Last year, state-owned group Kuntai took over operation of the property, which is also known as Jun Wang Fu, from the Beijing Tourism Group, opening the back garden venue last month.

“We have capped the seating capacity at 30 because we don’t want too big a crowd to affect the quiet atmosphere here,” says Randy De, general manager of the Kuntai Royal Hotel, which operates the mansion situated in Chaoyang Park. “Opening from 11am to 6pm, we only provide breakfast and afternoon tea sets, with no lunch and dinner offerings. The tea sets have to be booked in advance for us to control crowd size.”

The tea set, priced at 398 yuan (US$59) per person, includes Vietnamese chicken and fruit spring roll, foie gras pie with truffle, Spanish ham with honeydew melon, roasted vegetable with Milan salami, and rose and chestnut cake.

The menu is designed to include Beijing snacks that were once served in ancient royal palaces, De says.

“We want the meal to match the ambience of the environment. Before Kuntai took up the operation, many people had been to the mansion to attend weddings. But they have never been to the back garden area. We will do renovation in phases and open more areas [for the public] in future.”