A short documentary set in Shanghai has been selected for several festivals. Named 'Sunshine', the short offers a fleeting glimpse of the relatively young Chinese advertising industry and, perhaps more interestingly, John Benet, a jaded American advertiser seemingly trying to justify his career choice. more ›

In news that's sure to please anti-walking activists, McDonald's has announced that 40 percent of the 225-250 new franchises set to open this year will be drive-thru restaurants. With the recent news that an obesity epidemic is happening in Beijing, it looks as if China is well on its way to having waistlines to match their increased status in world affairs. more ›

McDonalds is set to raise prices for the fifth time in two years. Citing the pressures of rising food and rental costs, McDonalds said it would increase the prices of some of the items on its menu by between 0.5 and 2 RMB. With the changes, a 5-piece box of McNuggets now costs 1 kuai more at 8RMB, and a Big Mac 18.5RMB, up from 17.5RMB previously. more ›

The sanctity of fast food norms are under threat! Residents in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou now have the option of getting a hot dog and a small coffee for the appetizing price of 10RMB during breakfast at McDonald's. Finally, a hot morning wiener to go with our little cup of McD's coffee! What took them so long? more ›

We are so not lovin' it right now: "US fast food giant McDonald's raised prices of certain products in China from July 13, the Beijing Times reported Monday. The price hike is the fourth since July 2010, the paper said. McDonald's told the paper that the price hike was a 'structural adjustment', in line with the company's overall strategy. The price of Chicken McNuggets (5 pieces) was raised to 8 yuan ($1.19) from the previous 6 yuan, spicy McWings was raised to 9 yuan from 7 yuan, and a milkshake now costs 12 yuan instead of 9.5 yuan. It also raised the price of hamburgers, french fries, chicken wings, and most combos, excluding Chicken McNugget combos. The price hikes were between 0.5 yuan to 2 yuan, the paper said. KFC, another US fast food provider, said it currently has no plan to adjust product prices, according to the paper." [China Daily] more ›

It looks like Subway wants all of China eating fresh, all the time. On Monday, the company announced plans to more than double its number of stores in China, from the current 220 to over 600 by 2015! They announced a 40 percent growth in sale revenue in Beijing last year, and appear intent on taking over the mainland, one tuna sandwich at a time. Tuna is, by the way, the most popular sandwich choice by the Chinese, but the company is looking for even more ways to tailor items to local tastes. This is a phenomenon massively popular with mainland giants like KFC and McDonald's, whose gnarly shrimp patty burgers and red bean ice cream are screamingly popular. One shudders as the possibilities: Green tea teriyaki chicken? Taro 'n' cold cuts classic? Fragrant fish ball sub? (We did hear talk of a Peking Duck sub though, and have salivated over that rumor ever since.) more ›

We'd like to inform all our male readers, and those that could pass for male, that there's still time to take advantage of the 'Man Day' promotion from McDonald's. more ›

Yesterday I translated half of Southern Weekly's excellent article on McRefugees - those who make their homes in 24-hour fast food restaurants at night - and their lives in Shanghai. Here's Part II: more ›

A few weeks ago, Guangzhou's Southern Weekly had a very interesting feature on the McRefugees - people who, due to low pay or homelessness, spend their nights at 24-hour fast food restaurants - living in Shanghai's Xujiahui area. They were thrown into the spotlight in March, when one man stabbed a McDonalds employee who tried to kick him out. more ›

Fast food workers everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief, now that the McDonalds stabber has allegedly been caught. The man, surnamed Yang, was found in Shanxi Province on Sunday and brought back to Shanghai to face judgment. Police said they found out where he went by going through CCTV (closed circuit, not the station) footage from anywhere they thought he might have gone. As Yang awaits trial, the Mcdonalds employee's - Li Feng - family awaits compensation since Li died on the job. more ›

A 24-year-old McDonalds employee was killed in Xujiahui this morning after trying to wake up a customer sleeping in the fast food joint. The employee was stabbed at around 4:40am and was pronounced dead later in a local hospital. Police are still investigating the case, according to Shanghai Daily. The McDonalds was located at Tianyaoqiao Lu and Zhaojiabang Lu, just a block from the Xujiahui Metro line. more ›

• Shanghai's old people know how to live (and not just longer!) To make sure their mahjong runs go late into the night and into the early mornings, they are binging on ketamine, cocaine and meth! [Guardian]
• A Shanghai court has convicted six people Thursday in connection with the Minhang building collapse, sentencing them to terms ranging from three to five years for causing a "criminal major accident." [WSJ]
• Well this sounds delicious-ish? McDonalds has said they're going to launch a new hamburger university in Shanghai to train 5,000 employees. [China Retail News]

• Jeffrey Wasserstrom writes: in a world full of China experts, it's sometimes nice to sit back with a book about experiences in China, rather than one about proclamations about China. [Time]
• Perhaps because of all the recent protests regarding demolitions of homes, China is drafting new regulations that plan on giving urban residents more rights... and changing that 拆 (tear down) character with the much more friendly sounding 搬迁 (relocation). [WSJ]
• This isn't going to help us curb our fast food habit: McDonalds is planning on opening 150 to 175 new restaurants all over China. [Reuters]

White collar workers in Shanghai have expressed increasing dissatisfaction with the lunch options offered at moderately-priced restaurants around the city. more ›

McDonalds ain't messing around with its China strategy. Having already spread out its home delivery service last year, and then lowered prices for its popular items on the China menu two months ago, it's now announced plans for a major hiring spree. more ›

McDonalds will be cutting prices for many popular items on its China menu. Popular options like the Filet-O-Fish, Double Cheeseburger, McNuggets, McPuff, and the Mala Pork Burger, are all getting a nice discount. Sure, it's still more expensive than local food, but all expats craving their fast food fix can now do it even cheaper. Yay, recession! Source: Straits Times more ›

The Economist has issued its latest Big Mac Index which uses the price of McDonald's hamburgers to compare international currencies. The fast food dish is a funny but apt international measuring stick, since its 31,000 stores in 119 countries make it a widespread global phenomenon. But all those burgers are telling essentially the same story, at least as it relates to China: the yuan is severely undervalued. That might be bad for foreign economic competition, but it’s good for us — the Chinese burger, at $1.41, is the second most affordable in the world, beat out by India for the cheapest spot by a single cent. And people wonder where the Chinese obesity epidemic comes from. more ›

Either that or they look like McDonald's managers circa 1975. Check out pics and commentary here. more ›

With the world looking at China leading up to the Games, China continues to make a concerted effort to meet the social standards of Western developed countries. In addition to public service announcements teaching people to be civil to each other, the powers that be (in this case the Jing'an Municipality) have have even gone as far as launching a volunteer guerrilla campaign to bribe people with small gifts to clear their tables at McDonald's and KFC. more ›

Though this article is a little old, from Reuters we learn that McDonald's is expanding its delivery service, which we first wrote about way back when. Apparently, demand for home delivery was strong but the restaurants could only meet orders within walking distance. But now, after spending the past year outsourcing its delivery operations and investing in 300 motorcycles across its 42 locations, McDonald's is in a better position to compete with rival Yum! restaurants KFC and Pizza Hut, which have been delivering to customers for years. more ›

Xinhua: Danish PM wishes for closer cooperation with China in New Year more ›

Four Chinese from Hubei have just opened a restaurant in the world's most dangerous city — Baghdad — reports the London Times. Edited highlights: more ›

Since Thursday, mallrats visiting Citic Plaza on Nanjing road may have noticed the greeting card and painting exhibit on the ground floor, right across from McDonald's. We were struck by how atypically childlike the artwork was, and then we found out why: they were all produced by children. The event is called the "Share Your Love" Art Charity program and is organized and hosted by the SMIC Private School in Pudong. We'll let the website... more ›

We don't often watch telly here, so this might be a bit late and some of you might have already seen this. In this ad, McDonald's calls for children to march their way to the Beijing Olympics next year! Way too cute! Does anyone know which agency was behind the ad? more ›

The latest issue of TIME Magazine has an interesting story of a US-based company that has just set up shop in where else but Inner Mongolia, to feed the millions of hungry Chinese who are now looking to eat something other than pork: more ›

McDonald's has announced that with effect from next month, it will increase workers' wages in China to levels 12 to 56 percent above local minimum wages. The move comes after a 4-month long controversy which began in April, when Chinese newspapers reported it was paying part-time workers far below local minimums -- eg., 4 yuan (52 cents) per hour in Guangzhou, or just over half the city's minimum. McDonald's is not the only foreign company facing accusations of exploitation. Chinese unions have also criticised the wage policies of Pizza Hut and KFC and may be expected to step up pressure on them next, while Wal-Mart only began to allow its Chinese staff to join unions after the media slammed it for exploiting lower paid workers. more ›

We have whined before about the dearth of decent restaurants in Shanghai's airports. Pudong travelers are still better off brown-bagging it, but it seems relief will soon be on the way for domestic travelers: Element Fresh is opening up shop at Hongqiao Airport. From their website: more ›

McDonald's, KFC, and Pizza Hut have been accused of paying part-time workers less than the minimum wage in various Chinese cities, Chinese labor officials found. more ›