The First US Fast Food Chain To Arrive In China

China's history with the West has been long and complicated, but one way the humongous nation of almost 1.5 billion people and the U.S. have enjoyed mutual admiration is through food. Americans have, well, Americanized Chinese cuisine for the most part. But there are some authentic dishes that Americans have grown to love, such as dan dan noodles, kung pao chicken, and dumplings — oh, how we adore Chinese dumplings. And to palates in China, Americans have brought U.S. fast food chains.

In fact, the very first American fast food chain to open up shop in China was Kentucky Fried Chicken, or KFC, in 1987, and it was received rapturously. With nearly $85,000-worth of business in a single day, KFC had a huge hit on its hands. To this day, the chain outpaces its fast food rivals in China. The main reason for KFC's success in this new market? It gradually developed a business model that included infusing the menu with enough national and regional dishes to ensure that Chinese customers no longer saw the chain as an exotic, international offering, but a homey part of the fabric of the Chinese community. (Will Popeyes, which is also looking to make headway in China, follow suit? Apparently).

McDonald's wasn't far behind KFC. In 1990, the world's largest restaurant chain opened its first restaurant on the mainland (it had opened a restaurant six years earlier on the island of Taiwan). Yet McDonald's struggled to find as much success as KFC had, due in part to failing to adapt its menu for the Chinese market (the cheeseburger was less palatable to Chinese tastes than fried chicken), a mistake the chain has sought to correct.

Another American chain that has entered the Chinese market is Starbucks. This coffee company opened its first store in Beijing in 1999, and hasn't looked back since. Now boasting more than 7,300 stores all over the country, China could become Starbucks' largest overall market. However it hasn't been smooth sailing, with Starbucks' high prices facing stiff competition from Chinese coffee and tea chains that sell similar products for, in some cases, less than half the price. The intensity of this competition has led to China recently taking the mantle for the most chain coffee shops in the world.