Huizhou wonton maker carries on a long family tradition

Selling wonton from his mobile kitchen on Old Street in downtown Huangshan , Wang Zili - whose name means self-reliance - is living testament to the entrepreneurship of the Huizhou merchants.

Known for their business acumen, hard-working nature and business ethics, the Huizhou merchants are from Huangshan and neighbouring counties in southern Anhui province - an area once known as Huizhou.

They dominated the business landscape, particularly the commodities trade, for more than 300 years until its decline in the latter part of the Qing dynasty.

His cooking implements on a bamboo pole across his shoulders, Mr Wang walks the narrow alley every afternoon touting his freshly cooked dumplings. He also rents a street-front restaurant, from which he makes most of his income, 'but I still enjoyed the old way of doing business and the street-touting is good for my overall business as it helps promote the brand', he said.

The brand, Wang Yi Tiao, dates back 180 years to when an ancestor began selling dumplings on the streets of the city at the foot of the famed Yellow Mountains. The Wangs had to give up the business after the communists took control of the country and denounced private entrepreneurship, but they kept their cookshop-on-a-pole - known as a biandan.

Initially Mr Wang, 37, did not want to revive the family business because of the stigma associated with private entrepreneurship. Instead he went to Shenzhen to work as a painter in a factory after graduating from high school.

'So it was not until 2000, when my boy was born, that I had to come back to look after my new family. With great reluctance I picked up my equipment and hit the street,' he said.