The Business of Burgers in Beijing: What Fast Food Festivals Reveal About China's Economy

The Business of Burgers in Beijing: What Fast Food Festivals Reveal About China's Economy

From Barbarians at the Gate by Barbarians at the Gate

April 21, 2026 · 33 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the rise of burger festivals in China and their implications for the economy and food culture.

Mike Wester launched the first Burger Fest in Beijing 13 years ago as a scrappy response to the collapse of print ad revenue. Today, burger festivals run in third-tier cities across China, subsidized by local governments trying to drive foot traffic into half-empty malls. Hefei alone has four a year. In this episode, Jeremiah talks with Mike Wester, co-founder of True Run Media and publisher of the Beijinger, about how burgers became one of China's fastest-growing new cuisines, what the food festival boom reveals about Chinese commercial real estate, and why a generation raised on McDonald's is now opening artisanal burger shops in cities that didn't have a KFC a decade ago. They cover the social-media arms race, producing photogenic and often inedible creations, and 13 years of memorable entries — including a Wagyu patty with goose liver, cinnamon, and apple, and a pig-brain burger from a man who built his fortune on braised pig brains.

People in this episode

Host: Jeremiah

Guest: Mike Wester

Topics covered

  • fast food
  • China's economy
  • food festivals
  • commercial real estate
  • artisanal burgers

Keywords

  • burger festivals
  • China
  • economy
  • fast food
  • artisanal burgers
  • commercial real estate
  • social media

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: True Run Media, Beijinger

Products: McDonald's, KFC, Wagyu, pig-brain burger

Places: Beijing, Hefei

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