Four dishes and one soup Premier Zhou personally set the standards for a state banquet. On the night of the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, the Central People's Government held the first grand state banquet of New China at the Beijing Hotel.

That night, more than 600 people including the founding fathers of New China, representatives from all walks of life, and guests attended the first state banquet of New China.

After the Great Hall of the People was built in 1959, my country's formal banquets to welcome visiting state guests were usually held in the banquet hall of the Great Hall of the People, and sometimes also in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Since the first banquet since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the changes in state banquets have been eye-catching, and the reform of state banquets has kept pace with the times.

Four dishes and one soup, this was the standard set by Premier Zhou Enlai and continues to this day.

After 1984, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made specific and clear regulations on the reform of state banquets in accordance with the instructions of relevant leaders of the Central Committee and the State Council. The standards for state banquets: banquets hosted by the General Secretary, President of the State, Chairman of the Standing Committee, Prime Minister, Chairman of the Military Commission, and Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

The cost is 50 to 60 yuan per guest. If you are hosting a few important foreign guests, the cost should be within 80 yuan. Generally, the standard for each guest at a banquet is 30 to 40 yuan.

Afterwards, it was confirmed again that banquets with visiting foreign guests should not be too frequent. Chinese meals include four dishes and one soup, while Western meals usually include two dishes and one soup, with a maximum of three dishes and one soup.

At the same time, it is stipulated that hard liquor, such as Maotai and Fenjiu, will no longer be used in state banquets. Alcohol, such as beer, wine or other beverages, will be served according to the guests' habits.

The above regulations will be implemented for many years until the new standards are implemented.

As far as I know, the current standard for a state banquet is no more than 200 yuan per person per meal (excluding drinks).

The banquet consists of four dishes and one soup or three dishes and one soup. The state banquet consists of four dishes and one soup. This has always been the case.

At present, when leaders entertain state guests, some only use three dishes and one soup or two dishes and one soup.

This approach not only saves money and materials, but also saves time and manpower.

The current state banquet time is 1 hour and 15 minutes.

State banquets used to take two to three hours.

I remember that in the 1960s, my country’s banquets to welcome visiting state guests usually had more than 50 banquet tables. In addition to inviting the visiting state guests and their entourage, foreign envoys, couples and diplomatic corps from foreign countries stationed in China were also invited to occupy more than 20 banquet tables, plus Chinese accompanying guests.

At that time, under normal circumstances, there were 6 kinds of cold dishes and 4 hot dishes at the banquet. In front of each guest, there were 3 large, medium and small glasses, including the strong liquor Maotai and other famous brand wines, etc. The glasses were filled to the top.

Plus orange water, mineral water and other drinks.

At each banquet, both the guest and the host made speeches, and the speeches were translated into English, French and Russian.

At that time, the relationship between our country and the Soviet Union was in a state of sharp confrontation. If either the visiting state guests or the host mentioned "Soviet revisionism" or "minor revisionism" in their speeches, their envoys would withdraw from the meeting in protest, and the banquet hall would soon be empty.

There are several tables.

Later, the leader instructed that after they had finished the four dishes, the host and guest would talk again, so that everyone could leave happily.