Italian ice cream set to melt hearts

HANGZHOU - Claudio Desideri, a 59-year-old Italian, has plans to expand his ice cream business to China after a pep talk given by his younger brother's wife, Xu Xuefen.

"The equipment, freezer and ingredients are all ready. We will be ready to go once the engineers from Italy finish commissioning the machine," Xu told Desideri.

Xu is from Qingtian county, Zhejiang province. The hilly county was once called "the closest place to globalization" as it has more than 300 years of history of migration. With a population of 550,000, the county is also home to another 330,000 people who now live in 128 countries and regions around the globe.