Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Go Believe

Go Believe is a famous brand of baozi from Tianjin, China. Founded in 1858, it is one of China's longest established brands.
Several explanations have been offered for its unusual name; perhaps the most common is that it comes from a childhood nickname of the founder, Gao Gui 高贵, given to protect him from bad luck. Another spinoff of the story says that Gao Gui, after the wild success of his baozi business, had less and less time to converse with his patrons, which led to a joke amongst the patrons that Gao Gui does not care about them, hence the name "Dog Won't Care". According to tradition, the Empress Dowager Cixi was brought some Goubuli baozi by Yuan Shikai, who returned from Tianjin, and she pronounced them delicious, instantly adding to their fame.

A proper name was created for the restaurant recently, in anticipation of the Beijing Olympics. The English name's pronunciation is similar to the pronunciation of the Chinese name.

As of 2005, the Goubuli brand is owned by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Tong Ren Tang.

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