China restaurant owner gifts staff BMWs after seeing them work in harsh winter

A Chinese restaurant owner gave fully paid BMWs to top employees after noticing their harsh winter commutes. She said the cars were a way to share the success her staff had helped build.China restaurant owner gifts staff BMWs after seeing them work in harsh winter (Photo: Representational Image from Getty Images)A restaurant owner in China has gifted brand-new BMWs to her top-performing employees after seeing them brave freezing temperatures on electric scooters to get to work.Ma Yanli, who runs a beef hotpot restaurant chain headquartered in Jiaozuo, Henan province, arranged for some of her employees to collect their new cars on September 24.According to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), each BMW was worth 300,000 yuan (approximately Rs 43 lakh), and Ma had paid for the vehicles in full around two weeks before handing them over.One of the recipients, Li Jie, was overwhelmed by the unexpected gesture. She recalled that Ma had simply told her she would receive a “big toy” while they were travelling to the BMW showroom. By the end of the day, a new white BMW had been registered in Li’s name, without her having to pay anything or sign an agreement in return.The idea had come to Ma the previous winter. Li, who had worked at the restaurant for eight years, usually commuted on an electric scooter. One cold morning, Ma noticed her arriving at work with a flushed face, purple ears and hands stiff from the biting wind. Seeing her employee struggle with the cold made Ma question why her workers should have to endure such conditions when she could travel comfortably in her own car.Ma, who has spent two decades in the catering industry, felt that her business’s success was the result of collective effort and that her employees should also benefit from it.Li was not the only worker to receive the generous gift. Another employee, Liu Yingying, was presented with a grey BMW. Liu recalled that Ma told her the car was deserved recognition for her hard work and strong performance.The gifts were also part of a wider pattern of generosity towards her staff. Ma also gives employees cash bonuses and everyday essentials during traditional Chinese festivals, making the BMWs an especially striking extension of her efforts to reward their contributions.As the SCMP noted in its report, generous employers have attracted considerable attention in China. One such example is Cui Peijun, chairman of Henan Kuangshan Crane Company, who has become known for distributing substantial rewards among his workforce.Before the Spring Festival in 2025, he handed out a total of 180 million yuan in bonuses to employees. He also gives female employees cash gifts for International Women’s Day and provides workers from rural areas with an annual subsidy to help their families with the harvest.Ma’s gesture, however, began with a more personal moment: seeing a long-serving employee arrive at work visibly affected by the winter cold. For her, the cars were not simply rewards for good performance but a way to share the success her employees had helped build.- Ends