Starbucks closes Beijing branch

A campaign for its closure has been brewing since early this year, when a television anchor complained that the American chain's presence in the symbol of the Chinese nation was trampling on Chinese culture.

The outlet opened in 2000 prompting a media backlash so severe that the museum authorities considered revoking its lease after a couple of months.

It has operated without the usual outward corporate Starbucks bunting in recent years.

Eden Woon, Starbucks vice-president for Greater China, said the museum management had decided to introduce its own branded stores and merchandise after a year-long review.

Starbucks was offered the option to revamp the outlet as a "coffee shop" selling domestic coffee and other beverages alongside its own brew, but decided it wanted to maintain its own brand.

The company's 3,000 international stores include 239 outlets in mainland China, where many competing coffee chains also sport a round green logo similar to the registered Starbucks logo.

The rectangular Forbidden City, formally known as the Palace Museum, covers 74 hectares (183 acres) surrounded by a moat to the north of Tiananmen Square and has a fabled 9,999 rooms.

It was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987.

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