Although eating at McDonald’s was pricy, new restaurants appeared in Beijing one after another because eating there had become a social event and a culinary experience.
The company name and trademark was already known, and roused great curiosity among trendy customers. The western food, atmosphere, and style of eating attracted the locals and the domestic tourists. The new burger joint became an attraction as a place to taste not only the American food, but also the American culture. In 1992, McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Beijing, China. In 1996, a new outlet was opened 150 meters away from the old location, where it continues to operate today.ġ992 nián màidāngláo zài zhōngguó běijīng kāishè dì yī jiā cāntīng. The legal battle lasted for two years, and ended when Beijing had agreed to pay McDonald’s a fee of $12.3 million. All the surrounding buildings were demolished, while the American restaurant was the lone building standing amid rubble. In question was McDonald’s 20-year lease and the city’s attempts to close the restaurant for a new super-sized shopping center. The grand opening day in April 1992 was exceptional: more than forty thousand customers were served by nearly one thousand employees.īut two years after, McDonald’s was engaged in a land dispute against Beijing’s government. The big golden arches (麦当劳的金色拱门màidāngláo de jīnsè gǒngmén) were seen from afar, and an inflatable Ronald McDonald (麦当劳叔叔màidāngláo shūshu) perched on the two-story restaurant, on Beijing’s main shopping street. Two years later McDonald’s finally entered Beijing, and opened its (back then) largest restaurant in the world. In 1990, McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in mainland China (in Shenzhen). The low taxes, the adequate infrastructure, and less interference from the government attracted McDonald’s to open their store in 1990 in Shenzhen, making China the 53 rd country with a McDonald’s.ġ990 nián màidāngláo zài zhōngguó dàlù (shēnzhèn) kāishè dì yī jiā cāntīng. Shenzhen was declared a special economic zone in 1979, and was the first region to be opened to foreigners. Unlike KFC who opened its first Chinese branch in the capital, Beijing, McDonald’s advanced from the south, opening in Shenzhen, a small city near Hong Kong.
KFC, for example, opened in Beijing in 1987, while McDonald’s opened its first outlet in China only three years later. McDonald’s (麦当劳 Màidāngláo) was a late entrant into the foreign fast food industry in China. DSCN0413 by rob_rob2001 from is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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