In 2001, at the invitation of the Palace Museum, Starbucks opened a new outlet in the Imperial Palace. However, 6 years later, it had to shut down the branch under the pressure of Chinese mass. Ri chenggang, an anchorman of CCTV English channel, called on the public to pull the store of Starbucks in the Palace Museum. In his blog, he said, it is not globalizing, but trampling(践踏)Chinese culture. You can buy a big cup of coffee in Starbucks with 4 dollars, Starbucks is a symbol of western fast food culture, while the imperial palace presents the cream of our nation. It is a culture invasion. His idea won public support and the mass media paid high attention to the affair. At last, starbucks have to move out. I think the reason why people become sensitive is that it is a culture conflict between eastern and western. As the center of a country which has 5 thousands years, the imperial is holy and inviolable [ ?n?va??l?b?l] (神圣不可侵犯) ,it is a symbol of Chinese civilization. However, are they also our culture essence(文化精髓)? When looking back ,we should reflect deeply on(反思) our behavior .
5 years later, starbucks comes back again! This time, it sets up a new store near lingyin temple , a famous Buddhist temple [?b?d?st] (佛教寺院) in Hangzhou, Zhenjiang province. Just like several years ago, it has again brewed [bru] debate. Does it poses a challenge to our traditional culture or we are narrow minded, reject foreigner things
blindly.
This time, I am afraid we can’t say no to atarbucks like several years ago. First of all, the new outlet is located in the commercial zone of the Lingyin Temple Scenic Area (灵隐寺风景区), where other shopping centers such as KFC, Zhi WeiGuan, and supermarket have been running for half a year. Just as a culture symbol of America like KFC, why should we say no to Starbucks while put up with the existence of KFC. What’s more, selling coffee is just a commercial behavior which doesn’t disobey relevant laws and regulations. There is no reason to oppose them as long as local governments approve them. Last but not least, cultural attractions and stores are interdependent in modern tourism, there is no such thing as a place of interest without nearby stores.
I don’t think starbucks tramples over(践踏) Chinese culture, a small cup of coffee cannot overthrow traditional Chinese culture which has such a long glorious past and great future . self-confidence isn’t gained from others’ hands, it grows and becomes stronger in our heart. The traditional culture won’t stop inheriting just because a Starbucks’ branch. I think ,we can always find a way to achieve a win-win situation(双赢局面),if we put aside prejudice and discard the dross and select the essence(取其精华，弃其糟粕) of each other.
Many historical sites in China have always faced the problem of looking for a balance between cultural traditions and business
development. Let us take a look at the practices in other countries: the \local government regulations which forbid food or drink store's operation in the palace area with the only exception of the beverage vending machine at the gate; while Japan preserves the historical sites in a more conservative way, that the cultural heritage may be \name removed from the publicly recognized list of \treasure\and \introduction of modern equipment and industry.