Located off Nanluogu Xiang, inside Han’s Royal Garden, Běijīng’s biggest courtyard hotel, the spectacular setting – individual dining rooms with intricately painted ceiling panels, hanging lanterns and rosewood wall panels – is a suitable backdrop to sample imperial cuisine, in one of the few places that carry on the tradition of the eight restaurants sanctioned by the Qing to serve up food fit for emperors. The dishes come carved in extraordinary shapes, such as dragons, and look so good it seems wrong to eat them. The set menus start at Y500 (maximum 16 people) but go as high as you like, depending on your tastes – you can’t dine like an emperor on the cheap. Book ahead to customise your menu.