Forbidden City Starbucks Now Forever Forbidden! by Confucius
You don't need to know how to say "Starbucks" in Mandarin Chinese. Workers inside the Forbidden City are used to hearing the same question from foreigners and can guess from your cup drinking hand motion that you're seeking a latte and not the loo.Many foreign tourists are outspoken on whether an American company should be allowed to have a shop inside the emperor's historical residence. Of course the Ming emperors are rolling in their tombs out by the Badaling Great Wall, but most ordinary Chinese actually don't have a strong opinion about the international coffee chain's presence since it opened in 2000.
Maybe they just didn't see it. There aren't any signs posted on the palace grounds directing people to the Heavenly Altar of Almond Latte, but ask any Chinese museum worker pushing a broom and even they can understand what you are trying to find. ("Ah so! Foreign tourist asking me question, must be looking for coffee shop!")JULY 2007 UPDATE
Starbucks chose Friday the 13th as its unlucky last day of business inside Beijing's Forbidden City. The shop closed after months of controversy prompted by the Chinese blog of former CCTV television reporter Rui Chenggang, which called for Starbucks' eviction from the historic site out of respect for Chinese culture.
Starbucks finally decided to end their lease agreement following the Forbidden City's announcement in late June 2007 that it wants to operate all stores inside the palace museum and turn the present location of Starbucks into a beverage station selling multiple brands.