Visa-free deal boosts Chinese restaurant in Morocco

Public Diplomacy
Overseas Chinese are finding increased business opportunities, thanks to an increase in the number of countries offering visa-free access.

China PlusUpdated: September 8, 2017

Overseas Chinese are finding increased business opportunities, thanks to an increase in the number of countries offering visa-free access, reports Chinanews.com.

Waiters at Wang Luping's Chinese restaurant posing for a photo in front of the restaurant in Morocco. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

Waiters at Wang Luping's Chinese restaurant posing for a photo in front of the restaurant in Morocco. [Photo: Chinanews.com] 

Wang Luping, a post-80s man from Zhejiang province, China, earns 100,000 RMB (about $15,000) a month by running a Chinese restaurant in Morocco to offer Sichuan cuisines to Chinese tourists in the country, China News reported on Sept 7.

There were less than 1,000 Chinese tourists in Morocco when Wang first came to the country. However, the number has skyrocketed by a factor of six since Morocco started letting Chinese tourists enter the country without a visa in June 2016.

Wang opened the restaurant to offer Sichuan cuisines to Chinese visitors, as they usually have a hard time getting used to the local food. He decorated it with Chinese elements, including lanterns, couplets, and old-fashioned wooden armchairs, and named it the "Great Wall". The restaurant provides him a monthly income of 100,000 RMB.

In addition, with more exchanges between China and Africa, people in Morocco are excited about learning Chinese. Wang said that sometimes people ask him questions about China, which makes him feel valued.

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