Written by: Sun Shaoxiong and Fu Xiaobo Xinhua
Posted on: September 12, 2018 | 
| 中文
Taiwanese Pineapple Pastry Tarts (Source: smartdory)
“In the beginning, I came to Xinjiang for love, but soon I settled in the mainland for my work,” says Pan Peirong?a pastry chef, who summarized her unique experience of traveling over 4,000 kilometers away from her hometown in Taiwan of China.
Pan is a fair-skinned Taiwanese girl, who speaks with a strong accent. Within 5 years of meeting Xia Bin, a tall man with an angular face, they fell in love and together they have also started a business. They’re now married and well-settled in Urumqi. Pan, who had never gotten a chance to go to the mainland, soon after she graduated with a degree in Food Science, stumbled upon Xia Bin on ‘WeChat’, an online social media platform. She knew very little about Xinjiang till she started speaking to Xia Bin. By 2013, Xia Bin sent 25 year old Pan an invitation and so, she set out on her travels to western China to meet the man she fell for.
Before her departure, Pan’s mother, though never interfering in her daughter’s life, could hardly hide her worries. “What about not going? It is so far away. What if you are cheated?” showing much concern for her young daughter. Yet, Pan was very determined, especially after she had prepared and planned her itinerary. Pan reassured her mother, “I have already bought the flight ticket, and will come back soon, I promise.”
To her surprise, she was able to integrate easily into the life of Xinjiang, despite the immense differences, such as the climate and food. She ended up staying in Xinjiang for three months and still found it difficult to tear herself away. "The climate is cool here, the food is delicious, and the people are very hospitable. I feel that Xinjiang is growing and developing, it is full of vibrancy!” she said with a heavy heart when she was leaving Xinjiang to make the move to Urumqi. After returning to Taiwan, the exquisite pastry chef began to dig into Chinese mainland's preferential policies for Taiwan, and started to plan for her future. She found that Taiwanese desserts were very well-liked in Xinjiang because they complement the comparatively unsophisticated and rough local cuisine style, and many of her best desserts were unavailable in the Xinjiang market, promising greater business opportunities.
In 2014, after completing the formalities for her move, she was able to migrate to Urumqi and set up her own little Pastry Studio. At the time, selling products via social networks was rising gradually, especially in the mainland, and soon with the help of WeChat, many self-employed businesses began to emerge in Xinjiang. Following the emerging trend, Pan decided that it would be far more feasible for her to operate her business on WeChat. Through WeChat, she was able to not only make like-minded friends but also became even more devoted to her business. In the long run she thought that this would reduce the cost of opening a physical store and she could focus on the desserts and their delivery.
"Some of my colleagues in the baking industry were generous. They shared quality raw materials and potential customers who they thought would like my desserts. Many of them even invited me to their home for dinner." Pan said that making private desserts meant relying on contacts, and online sales rely on word of mouth. Over the years, she has insisted on using imported raw materials, and she even chooses seasonal fruits, sharing, that all the deserts she makes are sold on the very same day. With her desserts being so tasty and sweet, her list of customers increased and eventually through recommendations, her orders got bigger and bigger, greatly booming her dessert business.
Before her business began to flourish, she would provide her dessert delivery service by bus, but now, she has hired a professional delivery service, which not only delivers delicious desserts but also offers instant delivery. With the success of her business, Pan and Xia are now devoting themselves to their business, looking for potential partnerships for it and new ways to expand their business. They have even asked their friends if they are willing to join their business endeavors in opening a physical store.
“If I had not come to the mainland myself, I would not be able to truly understand the local customs. Mainland society is highly inclusive and accepting of Taiwanese people. My business has been flourishing for more than 5 years in Xinjiang, and it is rare that I have had to deal with any sort of difficult customers. Instead, I have found many friends and loyal customers.” Due to her Taiwanese desserts, she has managed to find around 200 Taiwanese people in Xinjiang, all grateful to her desserts for bringing them this close. She further stated that she does understand her family’s woes and worries, but she wants to help them understand the mainland and what it has allowed her to achieve. She later said, “Fortunately, now more and more young people from Taiwan can choose to go westward, which provides the people, on both sides of the Taiwan Strait with more opportunities to connect and understand each-other.” With her mother visiting in less than a month, Pan is nervous and excited since the young couple will introduce her to the sights of the mainland. She would really like her mother to experience Xinjiang as she has.
Translated by XuDonglin
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