McDonald's opens first mainland campus canteen

A customer eats at a McDonalds fast-food restaurant in Shanghai, China, February 21, 2013. [Photo/icpress.cn]

WUHAN - McDonalds opened its first campus canteen on the Chinese mainland in the city of Wuhan on Tuesday, the first move to exploit the Chinese university market.

The two-storey canteen is on Huazhong University of Science and Technology campus where about 60,000 students, faculty and their families live. It can accommodate 100 customers and offers take-out services.

"McDonalds consumers have expanded from the working class to students," said Jin Bingmei, market general manager of McDonald's middle and western China region. The restaurant also offers part-time jobs for students, she said.

McDonalds is expected to open more campus canteen in Wuhan where more than 1 million college students live.

The fast food chain is expected to open restaurants in Wuhan's planned subway stations, she said. The provincial capital of Hubei will open 7 subway lines in 2015.

The golden arches span more than 1,700 locations on the Chinese mainland, with more than 50 outlets in Wuhan and another 20 in the rest of Hubei. The first restaurant opened in the southern city of Shenzhen in 1990.