Dining at the Lake Hotel: The Decline of a Danwei in Guangxi

This article explores the transformation of the Lake Hotel, a state-owned danwei in Nanning, from 1952 to 2019, tracing its decline amid economic and political shifts. It situates the evolution of danwei institutions within China’s transition from a planned to a market economy, highlighting the impact of privatisation, labour restructuring, and changing political ideologies. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and historical analysis, it first analyses workers’ trajectories and aspirations, career stagnation, and declining job stability inside the danwei; then the evolution of culinary practices, from mass catering for elites to creative yet constrained “ethnic cuisine”; and finally, the growing politicisation of the hotel’s mission and its adaptation to anti-corruption policies. This study argues that rather than disappearing, the danwei has been reshaped by neoliberal and authoritarian forces, balancing economic survival with ideological legitimacy. Through an analysis of the interplay between culinary innovation and sociopolitical constraints through time, the Lake Hotel serves as a case study of the way state-owned institutions navigate market pressures while maintaining their political role, offering insight into broader transformations in China’s labour and consumption landscapes.