300th KFC restaurant opens in Beijing

BEIJING - Yum! Brands Inc. has opened its 300th Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Beijing, 25 years after entering the Chinese mainland market, the company said Tuesday.

Two customers pose with a staff member dressed as the mascot of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Colonel Sanders, for photos at the opening ceremony of the 300th restaurant in Beijing. Yum! Brands Inc, the Louisville, Kentucky-based company, which owns both KFC and Pizza Hut, has over 3,800 KFC restaurants on the Chinese mainland 25 years after it entered the market. [Photo/Xinhua]

The new KFC drive-through restaurant is located in a furniture mall along the fourth ring road in southern Beijing, according to a representative from the Yum! Brands China Division.

The Louisville, Kentucky-based company, which owns both KFC and Pizza Hut, has over 3,800 KFC restaurants on the Chinese mainland.

The company's confidence in China's economic development has given it the impetus to open at least 400 new restaurants in the country annually, according to the representative.

The company opened its first KFC restaurant in 1987 in downtown Beijing, which acted as a starting point for its rapid expansion in China. The number of KFC franchise restaurants in Beijing exploded from 100 in 2003 to 200 and 300 in 2008 and 2012, respectively.