BEIJING — The must-see tourist sights of the Chinese capital form a grandiose circuit: the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and, for early birds willing to brave long lines, the mausoleum of Mao Zedong.

But there is a new stop on Beijing’s sightseeing loop: an unassuming fast-food restaurant on the west side that has become a pilgrimage destination for fans of the president, Xi Jinping. It was here last year that Mr. Xi riveted the nation after he made a seemingly off-the-cuff visit to the Qingfeng Steamed Bun Shop, paid his own way and then carried his tray to one of the restaurant’s cheap folding tables.

“We’re following in the footsteps of our great leader,” Bai Henglin, a 29-year-old chauffeur, gushed as he took a selfie with his $3.50 Presidential Combo meal (steamed buns and a bowl of pig liver stew). “Out-of-town visitors who come to Beijing and don’t stop here will regret it.”

The restaurant’s morning-till-night crowds are just one barometer of the adulation directed at Mr. Xi since he assumed power in 2012. His serene smile graces ornamental plates and good luck trinkets, and a book of his thoughts on governing has been translated into eight languages with 17 million copies reportedly sold or given away. His avuncular charms have inspired songs and poems celebrating “Papa Xi” as a virtuous husband, a friend to the toiling peasant and an enemy of the corrupt.