Fans of European baking living in Wuxi, Jiangsu province are in luck, thanks to the efforts of Xuzhou-born entrepreneur, Cao Liqiu.
Her German-style bakery situated in the heart of Wuxi has seen a steady stream of customers since it opened just over a year ago.
With the traditional dirndl dress hanging up behind the counter and stack of pretzels next to the till, the 43-year-old businesswoman has created an authentic little bakery that would not look out of place in any Bavarian village.
Cao, who decided to open the bakery after spending 10 years living and working abroad, knows that she took a risk opening such a niche business in a second-tier city.
Some people advised me to simply invest money in the stock market, says the softly-spoken entrepreneur.
But Cao sensed an opportunity. She and her Austrian-born husband, Robert, were both missing the food they had enjoyed abroad –– especially German-style bread and cakes –– and she noticed that others were trying to find places to buy them.
I could see that more and more people were ordering this type of thing, but from Shanghai or Suzhou, she explains.
So Cao decided to take the plunge and enrolled herself on a professional month-long baking course in Germany. While there she learnt the different aspects of German baking and graduated from the course with a diploma from the German National Bakers Academy.
Back in China, Cao didn't waste time. She quickly found a small shop for rent and purchased the equipment she needed for her new business, including commercial ovens and a proofer for her bread products.
Now ready to start trading, the entrepreneur opened her new bakery "Alps" in downtown Wuxi, near to the city's Sanyang Plaza shopping district, on Sept 1, 2017.
And after spending all those years abroad, Cao claims that China is simply the best place to come and start a small business.
