Twenty years ago, McDonald's opened its first store in China. Now, there are over 1000 restaurants in the country and counting. McDonald's has relied on best sellers, like the Big Mac, but rival KFC has adjusted its menu to suit Chinese tastes - with items such as squid on a stick.

Now, facing increasing competition from local brands as well, McDonald's is trying to catch up with aggressive expansion plans.

A chilly day in Beijing, but it doesn't stop diners dropping in to one of the country's most popular fast food chains.

McDonald's is marking 20 years in China.

What started as a single outlet in 1990 rapidly expanded.

These days there are a thousand McDonald's restaurants in China, a figure the company hopes to double by 2013.

To mark two decades in operation, the interiors of several Beijing McDonald's are being revamped.

Kenneth Chan is McDonald's China Chief Executive.

Kenneth Chan, McDonald's China Chief Executive said "We're here for the long term and when we opened our restaurants in 1990 in Shenzhen, we were looking for a long-term commitment here. The ultimate goal is to try to expand as our urbanized consumers move from the rural cities into the urban centres. So we're making sure that we have a clear strategy in terms of opening at the right locations. At the same time we want to create brand differentiation with the rest of the competitors."

McDonald's famed Big Mac costs four times the price of a bowl of noodles in China.

Research suggests McDonald's is trusted because many feel its ingredients are safer and higher quality than those used by local food chains.

But McDonald's faces fierce competition.

Along with local noodle brand KungFu, KFC is taking an increasing slice of the market by better adapting its menu to Chinese tastes, according to Shaun Rein of Chinese Market Research.

Shaun Rein, Managing Director of China Market Research Group said "KFC has localised its menu offerings better than McDonald's. KFC here has squid on a stick or Chinese rice gruel for breakfast, where really basically what McDonald's is offering in China is the same exact product line that they get everywhere else in the world. Going forward I think McDonald's is also going to face a lot of competition from the domestic Chinese brands."

McDonald's is the world's number one fast food chain. It plans to open drive through restaurants to appeal top China's increasingly mobile population. Innovation it hopes will keep it ahead in an increasingly competitive fast food sector.

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