Chinese president stuns diners with lunchtime visit to eatery

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping dropped in unexpectedly yesterday at a traditional Beijing bun shop, where he queued up, ordered and paid for a simple lunch of buns stuffed with pork and onions, green vegetables, and stewed pig livers and intestines.

Such visits are extremely rare -- if not unheard of -- for top Chinese leaders, who are usually surrounded by heavy security and are not known for mingling with the public.

After spotting Xi, diners took photos of him and shared them on China's social media. State media reposted the photos online, and the official Xinhua News Agency reported about Xi's lunch on its Chinese-language news site.

"Had it not been for the photos, it would be incredulous to believe Xi, as a dignified president and party chief, should eat at a bun shop," author Wu Xiqi wrote in an editorial carried by the ruling Communist Party's official news site.

The manager of the Qing-Feng Steamed Dumpling Shop, who gave only her family name, He, said Xi and a small entourage arrived at the no-frills eatery around noon without notice. She said Xi paid 21 yuan ($3.40) for his lunch.

"There was no special security measure during his stay," the manager said. "Customers could freely enter and leave . . . and many took photos with him." In one, a chef posed with Xi, who continued eating as the picture was taken.

Installed as China's president in March, Xi has sought to portray himself as being in touch with regular people but has done so with scheduled visits to factories and homes.