Stall owners from China praise UK's 'chengguan'  

华人夫妇在伦敦经营拉面铺：英国“城管”人性化

(ECNS) -- A couple from Central China's Henan province has been running a ramen stall at a fair in east London for over five years, and they think highly of the urban management officers there, UK's Chinese Weekly reported.

Li Lin and his wife have been in the UK more than 10 years.

Like many other Chinese workers in the country, they started their careers in the UK at a Chinese restaurant. Several years later, with some savings and business skills, they decided to run a ramen stall on their own.

In the UK, each fair sets different provisions for stalls. General fairs prescribe the number of food stalls, and some fairs dictate that food stalls should sell different kinds of food.

"We first went to several local governments to collect related English-language documents. After studying them, we decided to do a field survey at each fair to see whether there had been a ramen stall. The field survey was essential because local government wouldn't let you run a ramen stall if a stall selling similar food already existed," the couple said.

After picking the right fair, the couple obtained a hygienic license, safety permit, safety insurance, and files that introduce the traditional Chinese food for the application. A month later, they got a business license.

"The government provides a soft opening period for new stalls, helping owners avoid losses caused by inadequate experience and poor business. We were permitted to open for business every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at first. As our business grew, we were permitted to open throughout the week."

"The daily rent is 25 pounds on weekdays and 130 on weekends."

"Unlike China's chengguan, the local law-enforcing department staffers rarely appear at the fair. Our stall just gets random inspections once or twice a year for food safety," the couple said. "They perform their tasks in a very moderate manner. If they find issues, they will remind you to address them and check the conditions at the next inspection."

"Governments in the UK are humane. I believe they consider businessmen's interests, and hope we can run our business safely and prosperously," they added.