Making home in Hefei after traveling world

Jeremy Hages making a cup of coffee in his Cafe. Provided to China Daily
 

HEFEI - Jeremy Hages, who holds both British and French nationality, traveled to many countries before he came to Hefei, capital of Anhui province, in the summer of 2009 and decided to settle there soon after. It was his first visit to the Chinese mainland.

He met his future wife Xu Jin during that trip and then decided to spend his life with her in the city. They now own a cafe on Wuhu Road.

The road, in the downtown area of Hefei, enjoys shade from the burning sun courtesy of parasol trees and is tranquil even in rush hour because it is not the main traffic artery.

Shipyard Cafe, as it is known, is on the ground floor of a residential building and has a small backyard.

There is no large, eye-catching logo. Instead, the easy-to-miss name, with letters made from drawings of chopsticks, hangs on a blackboard in the window.

Jeremy usually stands at the counter, reading if he is not serving because he speaks very limited Chinese. However, he is very good at making coffee, a skill he learned when studying in France. His wife caters and talks with most of the Chinese guests.

The cafe was opened a month ago yet its popularity is growing fast. It has become a place for foreigners and their friends to gather, sometimes playing chess and drinking beer.

"The peaceful atmosphere of the road and the lovely backyard were the reasons we decided on the location," Jeremy said.

The cafe is not easy to spot among the supermarkets and express inns along the road, which indicates the fast pace of life people endure here.

"For me, I think the quality of life is much more important," said Jeremy, who was born in Hampshire, in the United Kingdom. His father is French, and Jeremy spent six years in France, including his college years. He speaks almost equally good French as English, but occasionally gets stuck for the right word and needs time to consider. He studied Japanese in college, and worked in Japan as a TV commercial producer for four years. Jeremy said he was much more a cameraman and was very interested in the shooting, and was less patient during the cut and edit work.

The job left Jeremy with a sense of grasping the most beautiful moment. During his travels he used his camera skills to take pictures. He photographed sunsets in Malaysia, a youngster stepping carefully into the sea for the first time and reacting with an expression of amazement, a colorful festival in France - many small but heart-warming moments. These photos now adorn the walls of the Shipyard Cafe, which also boasts an English language book collection for expats living in Hefei to borrow or exchange. Such luxuries are not easy to find in the second-tier city.

The idea of opening a coffee shop started with a family conversation.

"I came up with this idea when I was chatting with my wife and her sister," Jeremy said. "They were both very interested in making coffee. Then I thought, 'Why can't we do it by ourselves?' Why don't we have a coffee shop of our own and make it part of our life here?"

Jeremy used to serve in a cafe during his stays in France and Japan, and is very familiar with how the business works. They spent only two months looking for the right place and decorated it lovingly. His wife, Xu Jin, who freelances as an interior designer, regards the cafe as her most important work and decided to make it a "sweet, lovely place", in the exact style the couple decided upon before the business was launched.

"We did not have many visitors at first, but business is getting better and better every week," Jeremy said. "Most visitors come to the cafe because the place was recommended by their friends, and they in turn bring their friends to the place. We do not advertise anywhere because we want to make it a friendly and relaxing place and with very little pressure on profits - something more than just a business."

Jeremy now teaches oral English fourteen hours a week in Anhui Traditional Chinese Medical College and spends the rest of his day in the cafe.

Although it is only a four-room house, the couple designed a no-smoking area before the smoking ban came into effect in case parents brought children to the house.

Recently, the cafe served a new function when a couple of new clients of Xu Jin came to talk to her about a home decoration project they were thinking about.

Xu showed them around what she considered to be her masterpiece and was given the project immediately because the clients were deeply impressed with her talent.

"We have very bright hope for the future ahead because our life with the cafe has just started," Jeremy said. "We believe it will bring us more friends and fun."