南京一飯店門口貼著“我們向毛主席保證，所有菜價一律五折”。店鋪的墻上掛著文革時期的宣傳畫和語錄，包間名稱不是“插秧模范組”，就是“高產試驗田”，收銀臺下方還貼著“都是階級兄弟，還讓你買單，真是不好意思了”。置身飯店，仿佛時光倒流。對于此舉，有顧客稱道，有顧客則持反對態度，認為該店拿已逝偉人進行商業炒作，實屬不敬。

A restaurant in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province features a poster of Chairman Mao to promote their honesty. [Modern Express]

"In the name of Chairman Mao we promise all dishes on the menu are half-price," reads a poster hanging outside the entrance of a restaurant in Nanjing that has a portrait of the former national leader.

Highlighting slogans from the Cultural Revolution, this newly opened restaurant makes people feel like they're back in the 60s and 70s.

"I hate falsehoods, so I promise in the name of Chairman Mao we are indeed honest," the owner told the Modern Express.

Other banners include: "Work hard with quality to catch up with Britain and the United States in 15 years," and "We're all proletarian brothers, sorry to make you pay" at the cashier desk.

The interior furnishings are also designed to remind customers of the early days after the New China was founded, when people all around the country worked hard to earn enough to eat. "We painted the walls with paint mixed with straw to make them look old," said a waiter in a Red Army uniform.

Some middle-aged diners like the style of the restaurant. "People were all simple-minded at that time. They seldom told a lie," said a woman surnamed Zhang. "If someone makes a promise to Chairman Mao, he was telling the truth. You should know that Chairman Mao was our idol and nobody would dare cheat on him," she went on with a laugh. Zhang added that she believed the restaurant would be credible since they promised to the Chairman.

The revolutionary banners don't appeal to all the customers, though. A passer-by surnamed Song dislikes this way of promoting the restaurant, accusing the eatery of sullying Chairman Mao's name.

A staff member with Nanjing's industry and commerce administration said they allowed businesses to reminisce about the past, but the commercial use of portraits of national leaders was illegal according to the country's advertising law, and said they would inspect the restaurant later.

（Chinadaily.com.cn） 

（英語點津陳蓓編輯）