Updated

Chinese President Xi Jinping has paid an unexpected visit to a Beijing bun shop, where he queued up, ordered and paid for a simple lunch of stuffed buns, green vegetables and stewed pig livers and intestines.

Such visits are rare for top Chinese leaders, who are usually surrounded by heavy security.

Xi has sought to portray himself as being in touch with regular people, but has done so with scheduled visits to factories and homes.

The restaurant manager, who gave only her family name, He, when reached by phone, said Xi and a small entourage arrived at the Qing-feng Steamed Dumpling Shop in western Beijing around noon Saturday without prior notification.

She said Xi paid 21 yuan ($3.40) for his lunch and that many diners took photos with the president.