Noodle school encourages the female touch

A project launched to raise employment levels among poor rural women by teaching them how to make a popular noodle soup has become a surprise hit with ambitious young Chinese educated at universities overseas.

A three-month, women-only course opened last month at the Xinglong Beef Noodle Vocational School in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province. It covers every aspect of running a restaurant specializing in Lanzhou lamian, a popular traditional dish, from preparing the ingredients to serving customers and cleaning.

Lanzhou lamian - a clear broth containing sliced beef, radishes, cilantro, chopped scallions, chili oil and handmade noodles - is arguably China's most popular fast food. More than 30,000 outlets sell the dish nationwide, generating combined revenue of about 60 billion yuan ($9.3 billion) last year.