A donkey meat pasty restaurant in Beijing fastened a real donkey outside their restaurant on Friday, May 18, 2007, in order to promote their food. [ Photo: YNET.com]

On Friday, a restaurant in Beijing tied a real donkey outside its door and hung the restaurant's advertisement plate from it, in order to attract people's attention and promote their donkey meat pasties.

The Beijing Youth Daily reports that this extraordinary idea was thought up by one of the staff working in a nearby donkey meat pasty restaurant. He insisted it was the best way for them to prove to their customers they stuffed their pasties with real donkey meat, as more and more fake donkey meat is appearing in the Beijing market.

The donkey was fastened to the barrier of the northern gate of the Communication University of China. Some local residents realized it was promoting the shop's products, but thought it was inappropriate to fasten a donkey on a street where it produces bad smells.

Some people also felt sorry for the donkey as, even though at the time it was being used as a promotion, it would not avoid being killed itself and eaten one day.

Donkey meat pasties are a famous snack that originates from north China's Hebei Province.