Some might call it a Chinese salute to arguably one of the most familiar Western faces in modern China.

No, we’re not talking about Richard Nixon or Henry Kissinger. Rather, it’s Colonel Harland Sanders, whose name may not be familiar to many Chinese, but whose familiar face graced China’s 10,000th KFC when it opened on Friday in the scenic city of Hanghzou. The milestone underscored KFC’s dominance as China’s biggest Western fast food chain, 36 years after it also became the first foreign chain to enter the market.

KFC’s road to 10,000 has been filled with twists and turns, including the many challenges brought by the pandemic between 2020 and 2022. It continued to open stores at a rapid clip even during that time, including 926 net new stores in 2022 and another 823 in the first nine months of this year. It said it will step up that pace in the coming years, with plans to open an average of 1,200 net new stores in each of the next three years, according to its announcement on opening its 10,000th store.