World's Most Controversial McCafe Opens in China

By Marvie Basilan, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, November 19, 2015

McDonald's is one loved and adored chain in many countries around the globe — but not in China, where a McCafe franchise recently opened has obtained rage from the Chinese people instead of fandom.

The coffee shop was opened doors on Sunday and immediately gained outrage from the Chinese people, with most pointing accusing fingers at local businessman Shen Chunlei, who opened the McCafe.

The story behind the villa where the McDonald's outlet was opened is quite interesting as it involves the colorful history of China. The Hangzhou City villa once homed former Taiwan leader Chiang Ching-kuo, who is also the son of former Kuomintang (KMT) leader Chiang Kai-shek.

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In 1949, the Communist Party seized Hangzhou and took over the two-story wood-and-brick house where Chiang found refuge for just a month. The space was then used as an employee, and come 2004, it was declared by the government as a historical artifact.

Shen has taken over the lease of the villa and he told CNN that he is surprised by the outpouring of anger that he has received. When state media first reported that renovation will start within the villa's walls way back January, the public went ballistic, but Shen said the rage has only gotten more intense over the past days.

An official for the Cultural Relics Bureau who only gave his surname, Wang, said Shen's McCafe doesn't go against the law since he is paying the government for monthly rent.

It should also be worth noting that when Shen claimed the villa, it was actually worn down when he took over so he needed to go through all the processes of getting his renovation plans approved, not to mention the estimated $800,000 that he used to complete rebuilding the place.

"I spent all that money maintaining and managing the property, of course I would hope for it to generate revenues," he said, adding that the interiors haven't changed in any way since he still aims to pay respects to the cultural heritage that the villa speaks of.

Hangzhou is a popular tourist destination for many years since it was once the home of hundreds of big names in the Chinese ancestry.