CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, February 18, 2020 | 17 LIFE

Left: Box meals are ready for delivery at Jiaheyipin restaurant in Beijing. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Center: A restaurant employee prepares free meals for workers in hospitals in Hefei, Anhui province. Right: Some res­ taurants start to resume business amid the epidemic in Changsha, Hunan province, on Feb 12. PHOTOS BY XINHUA Food delivery feeds recovery

Restaurants refocus their business models to bring meals to people, Li Yingxue reports.

early all of Beijing’s res­ due to the extended holidays, taurants closed for a online fresh­produce­delivery plat­ month when the SARS forms, such as Hemaxiansheng outbreak hit 17 years ago. and Jingdongdaojia, are short­ NLiu Jingjing, who owns a dozen handed. stores and restaurants, remembers Orders were usually delivered clearly how she entertained her within an hour before the outbreak. employees by playing games and But users have to wait longer now. getting them to read to kill the time Jia says about 1,000 of his employ­ and take their minds off the situa­ ees at Xibei are temporarily working tion. for Hemaxiansheng. She tried to start a delivery ser­ Meizhou Dongpo has not only vice then. But the SARS threat dis­ started to sell ingredients but also is appeared, and things started to offering semifinished products. return to normal before she got it “We have prepared thousands of on track. metric tons of ingredients, and the After the one­month shutdown, clients can buy raw ingredients she had to take out a loan at 10 per­ without going out,” Wang says. cent interest per month to pay her employees and vendors on time. Box meals A year later, upon noticing the Meizhou Dongpo has five bran­ demand for healthy food after the ches in Hubei province — two in epidemic, she decided to open a new Wuhan and three in Huanggang. restaurant chain, Jiaheyipin, “We have around 210 employees focused on serving nutritious por­ working in branches in Hubei. And ridge. Liu also launched a delivery we are launching special canteens to service in 2008. serious cash­flow difficulties, make meals for medical workers, When the novel coronavirus out­ which really touched me,” Liu says. journalists and police officers in break occurred in China during this “I always say that our workforce is a Wuhan and Huanggang,” Wang Spring Festival, businesses were warm family, like brothers and sis­ says. shut again, and the catering indus­ ters.” The canteen can prepare hun­ try became one of the hardest hit. Liu says all of her restaurants’ dreds of free box meals for local hos­ On Feb 6, the Beijing Administra­ walk­in diners need to order pitals and the construction site of tion for Market Regulation through a WeChat program so each the Huoshenshan Hospital every launched a guide for catering com­ order’s information, such as diners’ day. panies during the epidemic. WeChat ID, can be recorded. It’s not the first time that Meizhou All customers in restaurants “The food we serve is balanced in Dongpo has set up a special canteen. should be temperature tested before nutrition, which helps customers In 2013, after the earthquake in entering. And the restaurants maintain good health — it’s key to Ya’an, Sichuan province, the cater­ should set up hand­wash facilities, fighting the virus,” Liu says. ing group established one to serve and control the number of custom­ “We need to ensure our employ­ local people. ers and space between each diner. ees’ health first. And by providing Above: Restaurants follow strict rules in temperature tests and sanitation control. Top: Chefs in a res­ Jiaheyipin started to send free The guide also asks restaurants to our service as usual, we ensure peo­ taurant in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, cook yuanxiao, a special food for Lantern Festi­ meals to medical workers in Beijing not accept bookings of more than ple who are self­quarantined at val, for workers at the front line against the outbreak. PHOTOS BY XINHUA on Feb 2. It has delivered food to three people. home feel less anxiety or fear about Luhe Hospital, Shunyi Hospital and Unlike during SARS, most eater­ the situation.” Changping Hospital, which are all ies have chosen to stay open, includ­ China and lost about 17 million yuan Jia Guolong, CEO of Xibei Cater­ Western­cuisine restaurants in designated for novel coronavirus ing Liu’s chain, even though they Takeout orders ($2.44 million). ing Group, a restaurant chain Beijing that had previously focused pneumonia care. receive far fewer walk­ins. They are Many restaurants had prepared This, added to the paycheck out­ focused on northwestern Chinese on fine dining and serving experien­ “We’re contacting more hospitals focusing on delivery services. special menus for family­reunion lay of around 50 million yuan per cuisine, wrote a letter to all 21,870 ces are also starting delivery. Hulu in Beijing to provide our food to,” Jiaheyipin closed from Jan 24 to dinners during Spring Festival, and month and monthly rents totaling employees on Feb 6, saying that by TRB in the city’s Sanlitun area Liu says. 27 for Spring Festival. The epidemic pre­orders were quite popular. 11 million yuan, means the novel even though 80 percent of their launched lunch and dinner menus Jiaheyipin has created for medi­ did not stop Liu from opening on Bookings at some Michelin­starred coronavirus has cost the company more than 400 branches had to for delivery in early February. The cal workers four set meals with bal­ Jan 28. She put greater emphasis on restaurants in Beijing were made more than 70 million yuan. close due to the outbreak, the group entire process from cooking to deliv­ anced nutrition and flavor, delivery service. weeks before the holiday. The group’s business has declined is working on delivery services. ery is done by its own staff. including minced­pork congee About a third of her 1,500 employ­ But most were canceled as the by 80 to 90 percent, and its income About 200 branches are offering Many restaurants have also start­ with preserved eggs and steamed ees are at work, she says. The others novel coronavirus outbreak spread comes mostly from takeout, Wang takeout. ed services selling raw ingredients, buns stuffed with braised pork and are staying in their hometowns, in mid­January, leaving the restau­ says. All online delivery services follow including vegetables, meat and eggs. waiting for further instructions. But rants with plentiful food stocks. “Our cash flow can last three strict rules to lower risks for staff eggs. They have plenty in store For Lantern Festival, Jiaheyipin she has promised to pay their sala­ According to Wang Gang, founder months to half a year. The influence and customers. because of the holiday season. And also prepared yuanxiao, a food tra­ ries on time. of Meizhou Dongpo Catering of the novel coronavirus’ outbreak Most food deliveries include a card people prefer to stay home and ditionally eaten on the special day. “Some employees told me they Group, from Jan 21 to 30, the group on our restaurants may last six that records the names of the people avoid local markets. could receive their paychecks in received 11,144 cancellations in its months — even a year — so we need who cooked and delivered each dish, Because many of the delivery Contact the writer at stages, so our company won’t face more than 100 restaurants around a long­term plan.” and their body temperatures. people haven’t returned to Beijing [email protected] Folk art helps inspire fight against outbreak

By CHEN NAN the piece, about 6 minutes long, tells novels, by using different voices and At 15, Liu joined in a local folk works, titled Waiting for You, is [email protected] the story of 84­year­old Zhong, who body gestures as well as adding art troupe of Anshan and received about the doctors and nurses work­ has been working on the front line background information and com­ a five­year­long training in ping­ ing in Wuhan, Hubei province, the Artist Liu Lanfang is known for since the viral outbreak. mentary. shu. epicenter of the outbreak. bringing Yue Fei, a patriotic military “I received a phone call from an Liu collected news reported about “The reason why the old art form Since it was released on Jan 31, commander of the Southern Song audience the other day, who suggest­ Zhong and turned it into oral rendi­ is alive today is that the stories told the work has been played for over Dynasty (1127­1279), back to life with ed that I tell stories of people work­ tions. Usually the performer wears a by the performers are captivating, 500,000 times on a popular podcast pingshu, a traditional art form of ing on the front line of the battle to traditional gown during his or her which are not only entertaining platform, Himalaya FM. storytelling. contain the epidemic,” says Liu. performance and sits behind a desk but also educating and inspiring,” “I enjoyed listening to pingshu as Since its premiere in 1979 by a “That’s exactly what I was think­ equipped with a folding fan and a says Liu. “It can be enjoyed every­ a child because I was fascinated radio station in Anshan, Liaoning ing about.” wooden block, which is used like a where, at home, on radio, or driv­ about the heroes’ stories told by the province, the classic pingshu piece, “I am a big fan of Zhong. He gavel to attract attention. However, ing.” performers. Now, we have heroes in The Legend of Yue Fei, has become played a major role in overcoming since the video was homemade, Liu Liu hasn’t slowed down despite our real lives,” says Wang, who The reason why the one of the most popular performan­ the 2002­03 SARS outbreak in Chi­ gave the performance in her study her age. She has been dedicated to started to learn the art form in 2006 old art form is alive ces among Chinese audiences. Liu na and now he is still a hero battling room. promoting pingshu among young and gives performances along with has performed the piece at theaters, against the novel coronavirus pneu­ Born in Liaoyang, Liaoning prov­ Chinese and mentoring apprenti­ other young artists regularly in Bei­ today is that the radio stations and TV stations over monia. We all trust him.” ince, Liu was introduced to pingshu ces. jing. stories told by the the past 40 years. The traditional Chinese art form by her mother, an artist of Liaoning Since the viral outbreak, she led Pingshu is one type of quyi, or tra­ Now, at 76, Liu, who celebrated of pingshu was born in the Song dagu, a traditional storytelling art her apprentices to write stories ditional Chinese folk art. According performers are ... not her 60­year career anniversary last Dynasty (960­1279) and has been form of singing to the accompani­ about people’s lives during the diffi­ to Li Weijian, president of Beijing only entertaining but year, has released a new work popular mostly in northern China. ment of drum beating. cult times and turned them into Quyi Artists Association, by Feb 13, online, which tells the story about In 2008, pingshu was inscribed as Liu learned pingshu at age 13 pingshu performances, which aims Chinese quyi artists have created also educating and Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory part of the country’s intangible cul­ when few women practiced the art at offering comfort and encourage­ over 100 pieces of works, including inspiring.” expert who is leading a government tural heritage. form. It’s a demanding profession, ment to the public. xiangsheng (cross­talk), ballad sing­ panel of experts to help control the In the pingshu tradition, the per­ which combines writing, acting, Pingshu artist Wang Fengchen, ing and kuaishu (clapper talk), dedi­ Liu Lanfang coronavirus epidemic. former usually recounts a legend­ commentary and hours of memori­ 38, also wrote stories about the fight cated to people working on the front Pingshu artist Written by Liu and her apprentices, ary hero from Chinese folk tales or zation. against the outbreak. One of his line of the epidemic.