Andydeemer sez, “One of the weirdest dining experiences in China involves reliving the pain, poverty, and political madness of the Cultural Revolution. I just posted some video of this weeping, singing, flag-waving bizarro eatery…”
“Some people remember those years fondly,” said Reverb. “Our mothers had a very nice time during the cultural revolution. They traveled all over the country because the trains were free to ride. They walked to Beijing to see Chairman Mao. It took a month to get there. All the people would walk arm in arm down the street, singing revolutionary songs, and E.T.’s mom even saw Chairman Mao. They are happy when they remember these times.”
And remembering was going on. The waitresses all wore braids and bangs, the mandatory haircut of the day, and were dressed as red guards, the student army force run by Mao’s psychotic wife. The walls were smashed, representing perhaps the years of war, or — more likely — the destruction of the four olds (the red guard were urged to smash anything old.) Revolutionary posters, some depicting big-nosed Americans being jammed with a bayonet, plastered the walls. And red flags, made of chopsticks taped together and a ripped shred of red cloth, were distributed to every table.
Relive the Cultural Revolution (aka The Weirdest Dinner Theater in Beijing)
(Thanks, Andydeemer!)