在火锅之都找到家

A loft-style cafe on Luzumiao Street, a centennial street in downtown Chongqing, has become a hot spot for urban dwellers and tourists of late for its modern design and affordable coffee. Cafe It, the 60-square-meter coffee shop, has six distinctive CD players adorning its walls and can seat about a dozen customers.The owner Alison Lee said the CDs decorating the walls are hers and are meant to make the place feel more like home.

最近，重庆百年老街鲁祖庙街迎来“打卡热”，原来是一家名为“Cafe It”的咖啡店，占地60平米，店内挂着六台独具特色的CD播放器，富有现代气息，更吸引人的是咖啡好喝又实惠。其实，墙上装饰的CD来自店主Alison Lee自己的珍藏，她想让这里有家的温馨。

Born in Hong Kong in 1985, Lee had been working in product development in the catering industry after graduating from Sydney's Macquarie University in 2008. Invited by a college mate who suggested they work together on a startup as part of a group of 10 young entrepreneurs, Lee quit her job in Hong Kong and came to Chongqing in 2019. Just as the group was about to start their company in early 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic broke out. All the other members returned to Hong Kong, but Lee chose to stay and give things a try.

Alison Lee于1985年在香港出生，2008年从悉尼麦考瑞大学毕业，毕业后，她一直从事餐饮业的产品开发工作。2019年，她应同学邀请，来到重庆和同学一起创业。2020年初，他们准备运营初创公司，恰逢新冠疫情爆发，无奈之下，组内其他伙伴都回到了香港，但她选择留下，再试一试。

"I knew nothing about the place apart from its reputation for hotpot before I came," she said. "I was surprised to see that this inland municipality has developed so well and so fast." She felt that a new first-tier city like Chongqing might be just the place to open a shop with a reasonable rent and low labor cost. More established first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are more like Hong Kong, with high rents and salaries.

她表示：“来重庆之前，我只知道重庆火锅很有名，其他却一无所知。所以看到这个内地的直辖市发展地这么快、这么好，我很惊讶。”渐渐地，她有了新的想法，相比北京、上海、香港等一线城市的寸土寸金，她认为像重庆这样的新一线城市租金合理、劳动力价格低廉，更适合开店。

After being separated from her family for more than two years due to the pandemic, she said that local people are warm, straightforward and open, which makes her feel at home." "Having traveled around the world, it's the people, not the food or scenery, that make me want to settle down in one particular city." "Chongqing is a nice place to work, and it has become my second home. It must be destiny," Lee said.

受疫情影响，Alison Lee和家人分离两年有余，但是山城人的热情、直率和包容让她在这里有家的感觉。她说：“环游世界后我发现，我选择定居在某个城市是因为这里的人文风情，而不是美食美景。”如今，她的心态更为平和，她表示：“重庆不仅是工作的好地方，这还是我第二个家，一切都是缘分。”

Since Hong Kong's return to the motherland in 1997 and Macao's in 1999, Beijing has encouraged young people from both cities to look into study and work opportunities on the mainland. Known for its industrial might, Chongqing is a gateway to inland China and a hot investment destination. In 2020, a youth entrepreneurship platform was set up by the municipal government to help young entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and Macao learn more about the mainland and explore development opportunities. Ma Xing of Chognqing’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said the city also encourages talented individuals to enter municipal-level incubators, where they can enjoy advantages such as rent reduction and financial docking.

其实，自港澳回归以来，我国一直鼓励港澳青年到大陆学习工作。而重庆工业实力强劲，是西方国家通往中国内陆的门户和热门投资城市，是港澳青年创业的绝佳选择。2020年，重庆市政府成立“重庆市港澳青年创新创业基地”，旨在务实推进渝港澳青年创新创业交流合作，为三地人才、资源双向交流搭建平台。重庆市港澳办马兴表示，重庆还鼓励优秀人才进入市级创业孵化基地，享受租金减免和金融对接等优势服务。

Lee said that in Hong Kong, coffee is served at the city's Cha Chaan Teng (tea and food restaurants) and drunk at all hours of the day, so she's put up a sign saying "Coffee Is A Daily Essential" on the customer side of the counter. "I've seen coffee culture in Chongqing take off, just like Hong Kong 10 years ago," Lee said. "The potential here is huge." She added that it was her dream to serve affordable coffee to everyone.

其实内地市场潜力巨大，Alison Lee也看到了这一点，同时她还看到了商机。她说香港的茶餐厅会全天候供应咖啡，因此她在柜台挂上了醒目的牌子——“咖啡是每日必备饮品”。她说：“我见证了重庆咖啡文化的起步，正如10年前的香港。这里未来发展潜力巨大。”她补充道，因为自己很喜欢喝咖啡，每天早上必定喝一杯，希望大家能以大众化的价钱享受优质的咖啡也是她的梦想。

Lee said the biggest challenge is that the market in Chongqing is different. Even though local people like flavored coffees and coffees that look good, she serves only a few classics like flat white, latte, Americano and espresso.

与此同时，她清醒地看到重庆咖啡市场有其自身特点。重庆人偏爱调味咖啡和好看的咖啡，店里主打是经典咖啡，但为了迎合本地口味，也会不时推出一些创意新口味。

更多英文内容请访问中国日报网 Finding home in hotpot capital。

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即日起，凭此海报或2022年任意一份China Daily到Cafe It堂食可享85折读者专享价

地址:重庆市渝中区解放碑鲁祖庙31号花街#10商铺

原文来自中国日报网文案作者：王蔓

编辑：赵欣、郭津含

2022年4月合订本现已上架

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