Qianmen Quanjude, a 143-year-old roast duck restaurant in Beijing, China is closing for renovations, but its oven — said to be burning non-stop since opening day — will remain lit.
“[T]he restaurant has served 115,330,259 ducks in over 140 years of service,” according to China View. “It has hosted dinners for millions of people from all over the world, including former president of the United States George H. Bush, Japan’s former Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Cuba’s President Fidel Castro.”
The ancient, still-burning embers will be removed from the oven and placed in a vessel that will remain on-site while the renovations take place. After completion, they will be moved back into the oven, and the restaurant service will continue for another few hundred years.
Perhaps we can get Ember Swift, Gadling’s resident Canadian-in-China, to investigate further. Ember?
[via Neatorama]