The Man Who Cast Starbucks from the Forbidden City
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 07.19.07 | 10:06 AM ET
Why did Starbucks close its outlet in Beijing’s Forbidden City? In part, because of the campaign launched by a popular Chinese TV news anchor on his blog. His name is Rui Chenggang. He travels the globe and speaks near perfect English, according a terrific profile in the Los Angeles Times. Seven months ago, Rui wrote that the Starbucks outlet “undermined the Forbidden City’s solemnity and trampled over Chinese culture.” His post prompted a widespread response. Interestingly, he said he still drinks Starbucks coffee—there are well over 200 outlets in China—he just doesn’t think the chain should be hawking lattes in such a sacred Chinese site.
Rui worries that modernization will lead to homogenization in China. He said many people are now asking how the Chinese will preserve their country’s identity.
Writes Mitchell Landsberg:
His answer, of course, is the Forbidden City—that, as much as anything, defines China’s cultural heritage.
“I was having lunch with an Indian person today, and I said, ‘Would you Indians allow a Starbucks to be inside the Taj Mahal?’ And he said, ‘No, of course not, we would never let that happen.’ “
“The Forbidden City,” Rui added, “is not an airport.”
Related on World Hum:
* So Long, Forbidden City Starbucks. Help Us Pick a New Wonder.
* Seven Wonders of the Shrinking Planet
Photo by [Satbir] via Flickr, (Creative Commons).