The largest McDonald's hamburger restaurant in the world has closed to make way for a shopping center in central Beijing.
McDonald's 700-seat outlet on Wangfujing, the Chinese capital's premier shopping street near Tiananmen Square, ended operations Sunday night, said Zhang Ziyun, public relations manager for Beijing McDonald's Food Co. Ltd.Marvin Whaley, president of McDonald's China Development Co., said a new McDonald's restaurant would open at another location on Wangfujing in the near future.
The fate of the Wangfujing restaurant was under dispute for more than two years. When first ordered to leave the premises, the fast-food giant refused, saying it had a 20-year lease on the site.
Whaley said McDonald's was discussing with the city government an agreement that would benefit both sides.
At this point, it's unclear whether the new McDonald's restaurant - one of 29 in Beijing - will be as large as the one vacated.
The McDonald's building, which by Monday already had been sealed off by a wall of scaffolding and plastic sheeting, will be torn down and replaced by a section of the $1.5-billion Oriental Plaza shopping, housing and office complex.
Oriental Plaza is backed by Hong Kong tycoon Li Kai-shing and his flagship company, Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd.