‘Please forgive me’: restaurant owner gets down on knees and begs in front of disappointed customer as China’s barbecue capital overflows
- Millions of people online have viewed a video clip of the incident which has made an already hugely popular city in China even more crowded
- The flood of people into Zibo city in eastern China’s Shandong province has prompted local authorities to tell people not to come
The actions of a Chinese barbecue restaurant boss who knelt down in front of a customer and begged for forgiveness because the queue to get into his premises was too long has shocked mainland social media.
The incident took place in Zibo, a city in the eastern province of Shandong, which thanks to the popularity of its local speciality – barbecued food – has become the most discussed city in China.
Zibo’s profile has risen because of recommendations from online celebrities, to the extent that people are calling it “China’s outdoor barbecue capital”.
This has led to an influx of tourists ahead of the upcoming May Day holiday, prompting the city’s local government to warn that the city’s hotels are full and to advise that tourists visit another time.
The incident involving the kneeling restaurant owner happened on April 27, just as the influx began.
A video circulating on the mainland social media platform Weibo shows a middle-aged man kneeling on the ground and telling an angry man repeatedly: “I beg you, please forgive me.”