Peking duck is a famous duck
dish from Beijing that has been prepared since the imperial era and is now
considered a national dish of China.
The dish is prized for the thin and crisp skin and serves mostly theskin and little meat，sliced by the cook.in front of the diners Ducks bred specially for the dish are slaughtered after 65 days and seasoned before being roasted in a closed or hung oven.The meat is eaten with pancakes，scallion and hoisin sauce or sweet bean sauce.The two most notable restaurants in Beijing which serve this dish are Quanjude and Bianyifang，two centuries-old establishments which have become household names.
History
Duck has been roasted in China
since the Southern and Northern Dynasties.A variation of roast duck was
prepared for the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty.The dish，originally
named“Shaoyazi”，was mentioned in the Complete Recipes
for Dishes and Beverages manual in 1330 by Hu Sihui，an
inspector of the imperial kitchen.The Peking Roast Duck that came to be
associated with the term was fully developed during the later Ming Dynasty and
since then Peking Duck was one of the main dishes on imperial court menus.The
first restaurant specializing in Peking Duck，Bianyifang，was established in Xianyukou hutong，Qianmen
area of Beijing in 1416.
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty，the popularity of Peking Duck spread to the upper classes.In 1864，the Quanjude restaurant was established in Beijing.Yang Quanren，the founder of Quanjude，developed the hung oven to roast ducks.With its innovations and efficient management，the restaurant became well known in China，introducing the Peking Duck to the rest of the world.
By the mid-20th century，Peking Duck had become a national symbol of China，favored by tourists and diplomats alike.For example，Henry Kissinger，the Secretary of State of the United States，met Premier Zhou Enlai in the Great Hall of the People during his first visit to China.After a round of inconclusive talks in the morning，the delegation was served Peking Duck for lunch，which became Kissinger’s favourite.The Americans and Chinese issued a joint statement the following day，inviting President Richard Nixon to visit China in 1972.Peking Duck was hence considered one of the factors behind the rapprochement of the United States to China in the 1970s.
In 1976，Kissinger paid
another visit to Beijing to savor Peking Duck.
Peking Duck，at the
Quanjude in particular，has been a favorite dish among
various political leaders ranging from Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro to
former Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl.
