Xiao's inn

By Chen Xiaorong (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-13 07:49

An imaginative business name is a surefire way of ensuring success. Ask farmer Xiao Long.

Xiao's inn, Cangpofu (or literally, "support from a granary on the hillside"), at the foot of Huanghua Lakeside Great Wall in Huairou district is well known among the local peasants and tourists, as well as domestic and overseas travel agencies.

Xiao gave his inn this name 10 years, basing it on a local legend. It is said an old woman once dug a hole from which millet gushed out. This place is located right in the hills behind Xiao's backyard.

The story goes that when the woman returned the next day with the other villagers, this opening was nowhere to be seen. Assuming the story to be true, Xiao believes this hidden granary is a harbinger of good fortune.

His three-story inn overlooks beautiful scenery and great views of the Wall. In 1998, some hikers came looking for accommodation there and Xiao thought an inn would make good business sense. To find a place to build it, he exchanged his plantation in the mountains with that of another villager, which was closer to the road, by swapping three trees for one.

Rooms on the fist floor of the inn all have the kang (a kind of heated brick bed) to keep warm in winter, with doors opening to the east. The second floor houses the canteens and five rooms, with doors opening to the west. The idea is have as many doors as possible opening to the hills as that is considered a good omen, says Xiao.

Up to 50 visitors can be accommodated at a time, with four to a room, for 50 yuan ($7.3) per night.

The third floor has an open barbeque, with 20 sets of tables, and overlooks a pond.

To keep the food authentic, Xiao sources the eggs, meat and vegetables from farms and plantations himself.

His inn sees many foreign travelers and last year, a German even held his wedding banquet there.

"Our club members all like to visit Xiao's inn every time we visit the Great Wall," says Gao Tao, chairman of Cycle China.

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(China Daily 10/11/2008 page6)