He Shengcai in his grocery store. The store is along the French-styled Bailu town.

Two things came unexpectedly to He Shengcai following the devastating Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008. The owner of a grocery store in Bailu town in Pengzhou in southwestern China’s Sichuan province saw his profits grow after the earthquake, and he had a chance to learn French in his late fifties.

Other stores in the town closed after the earthquake. He was about to follow suit when his store began to prosper, so the 8-year-old grocery store survived.

After the reconstruction of the town, storeowners were asked by the local government to learn French. A French-style tourism town was being built and storeowners like him were expected to be ready to do business with foreigners. “We were asked and trained to learn at least 10 French sentences. I had never imagined I would learn a new language at my age,” He said.

French and coffee

In his spare time, Mr He sometimes watches a French movie downloaded from the Internet. “I just want to learn some French,” he said.

Tailored training sessions have been offered to Bailu residents since July 20, including arts and crafts classes, modern etiquette lessons and business management courses.

"Trainers will teach you how to effectively clean and how to communicate with customers if you own a restaurant. If you manage a supermarket, they’ll teach you how to arrange goods on shelves, and, of course, to be nice to your patrons,” he said.

Bailu citizens also can learn how to grind coffee beans and bake bread. “As part of the Bailu government’s plan, there will be French-style cafes and bakeries on a French-style tourism street. The government is trying hard to steer locals into these businesses,” said Zhu Yangyu, vice mayor of Bailu town.

Learning a new language is the most interesting part of the training, He said, although it wasn’t easy for the 58-year-old storeowner to master more than 10 French sentences.

Fairytale French villa

He’s grocery store looks more like a European villa than a traditional store. He’s building has a colorful roof, a French attic and windows. “My glazed-tile roofed three-story house was very pretty before it was hit by the earthquake. But I think this one is even prettier,” He said with pride.

Magnolia trees were planted along the French tourism street. “When these trees bloom, the street will be fragrant with magnolia perfume,” He’s wife said, looking at the young trees as she spoke.

Local residents now are discussing what they will do when the tourism town begins to welcome tourists. He’s neighbor, surnamed Xu, said she wanted to open a hardware store and maybe sell tourism souvenirs. He learned about making crafts in the training courses.

A higher goal

The reconstruction of Bailu Academy College, which was ruined in the Wenchuan earthquake, is under way. An adjacent large wedding theme park is also on the construction list, according to Zhu.

Outside the theme park, an Alsatian-style building cluster will be built imitating the northeastern French province of Alsace. “We’ll make it an oriental Alsace,” Zhu said.