At 5 o 'clock in the evening, with the tantalizing aroma of food filling the air, BEYTI Restaurant in downtown Yiwu appeals to lots of people.

Some people describe Yiwu as the “United Nations of Gastronomy”, which is closely related to the brisk market. The cheap and fine commodities attract batches of foreign businessmen to come to Yiwu. They live and start businesses here, regarding Yiwu as their second home. Their settlement is followed by the enrichment of food culture in Yiwu.

Muhannad Shalaby, the Jordanian founder of BEYTI, is one of the most typical.

“Yiwu was a wise choice.” Muhannad’s story starts in the late autumn of 20 years ago.

This photo was taken one year after Muhannad came to Yiwu. (Photo/ Muhannad)

In 2002, at the age of 24, Muhannad moved to Guangzhou to work as a helper in his uncle's restaurant. This experience sowed the seeds of starting a business in his mind.

But choosing an appropriate place to open a restaurant was difficult. Big cities like Guangzhou have high rents, while small cities are short of foreigners, which is accompanied by a limited market. At Muhannad’s wits' end, a regular customer recommended Yiwu, Zhejiang to him.

“Yiwu is a sea of small commodities. It's not a big place, but people from all over the world are doing business there. It's very promising,” the regular customer told Muhannad. But actually, Muhannad had already heard about this place.

In October of that year, Muhannad set foot in Yiwu for the first time. The houses were not high, the roads were not wide, the cars were rare, and lots of rickshaws were in sight. The contrast with Guangzhou made him wonder, “are there any foreigners here?”

Coincidentally, when he came to Yiwu, it was just the time when the market upgraded and transformed. After a careful investigation, Muhannad felt relieved because he found that foreign businessmen accompanied by translators could be seen everywhere in the market.

He immediately decided to partner with his uncle and set up “MAEEDA”, Yiwu's first foreign restaurant. On the opening day, foreign businessmen in Yiwu came in flocks.

Muhannad took this photo with his employees in December 2014.(Photo/Lv Bin)

At that time, China's entry into the WTO was the golden age for foreign investors to pour into Yiwu. As a branch of the restaurant in Guangzhou, “MAEEDA” not only consoled the homesickness of foreign businessmen but also became a trade link. “A lot of Guangzhou foreign businessmen who wanted to do business in Yiwu came to find me, and I provided them with one package service covering transport, accommodation, and market research.”

After making his first fortune, in 2004, Muhannad opened his restaurant, AQSA, in Yiwu.

Although many foreign restaurants had been opened in succession during that period, the average daily customer flow of AQSA didn’t decrease but increased, reaching three times that of “MAEEDA”. Muhannad renamed the restaurant "The Flower" and designed the logo of white flowers by himself, which symbolized the all-embracing flower of happiness and peace.

In 2018, the restaurant was upgraded again, tripling in size to 1,500 square meters, and officially renamed BEYTI Restaurant, with an average daily passenger flow of up to 2000 people.

At that time, more than 560,000 foreign buyers came to Yiwu every year, and 15,000 foreigners settled down in Yiwu.

The inclusive environment and good public services give Muhannad a sense of belonging to Yiwu. “In addition to doing business, we can also take public transport, buy cars and houses, go to hospital and go to school in Yiwu like natives.” According to Muhannad, in all these years, he seldom encountered troubles. This is because the government provides comprehensive services to foreigners in terms of visas and employment, and business affairs. “Yiwu is my home, I will strive to make it more beautiful, continue to promote Yiwu to more people, and let more foreigners know Yiwu and come to Yiwu.”

Translator: Yu Fei (Intern)

Editor: Ye Ke, Yu Fei (Intern)