McDonalds Happy Hour

Western, mostly American, fast food chains have been popular in China now for years. The big ones here are McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and Subway (though no Subway in Nanchang yet). They adapt their menus to local tastes - KFC for example offers rice dishes on their menu - but they still keep their core products too, such as Mcdonalds Big Mac.

Competition is quite fierce but so far in Nanchang KFC is clearly the most popular among the brands.

Here we have MacDonalds offering lunchtime discounts between 11am and 2pm. So you can get a burger meal (a Happy Meal?) for just 15 yuan, a Big Mac meal for 18.5 yuan and a double-cheese burger meal for 16 yuan between those hours.

Sadly as many in China are adopting a diet that is higher in meat and higher in fat together with a more sedentary lifestyle (driving everywhere, sitting down in an office all day) obesity is becoming a serious problem. Recent statistics revealed that 25% of people in Shanghai are over-weight or obese and the number is rising. Nanchang is not at those levels yet but as the city develops and people get richer it is likely to be only a matter of time.


(By Andy Meek)