Daoxiangcun cake shops are every Beijingner knows and eats brand, it got its reputation for over hundred years, it was set up in the 21st year of Emperor Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty, 1895. It was firstly located at Dazhalan near Qianmen, a hilarious commercial area of the time. The store sold up front what its owners made in the back -- namely all kind of southern-style foods. Carefully elaborated and catering to local tastes, its products soon became popular among the natives. Business boomed. Lu Xun, the great modern Chinese writer, used to frequent Daoxiangcun and several entries of his diary mention the store. Social upheaval and ongoing warfare, however, caused Daoxiangcun to close its doors just when it had established its reputation.

In 1984, Daoxiangcun changed its name by opening the Daoxiangcun Food Corporation (Group) in Beijing. Following the tradition of "selling up front what is made in the back" and adding the modern principle of "reputation and customers first, scientific management, hard work and self-discipline," the corporation has developed rapidly.

Today, Daoxiangcun has developed into 22 subsidiary stores, 24 alliance stores, one foods distribution center, one central factory that covering an area of 67,000 square meters and a material processing base which covering an area of 40,000 square meters. It has 12 lines of products with more than 500 different southern Chinese foods. They range from cakes and pastries to imperial-style vegetarian foods made of bean products, roasted seeds, nuts and candies. Some old favorites that had disappeared from shelves in recent years, such as roasted hew and wine brewed from glutinous rice, are also available at Daoxiangcun retail outlets.