By Chen Liang (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-10 08:33

"We don't wait at park entrances for business like we used to," he says. "No one has asked me to drive them to a scenic area outside of Chengdu since the quake."

Hu Xiaoding owns an inn with 63 standard rooms on the eighth and ninth floors of a commercial building near the Jinjiang River, one of the city's top tourist attractions. It had been quite popular with tourists on a budget, "but not a single guest checked into my hotel in the first week after the quake," Hu says. "A month later, only a quarter of the rooms are occupied. During the same period of last year, my hotel was fully booked."

While the image of the area as devastated has marred Chengdu's tourism, it has given some local businesspeople a leg up.

Zhang Ning is a railway inspection equipment supplier. On May 18, the 49-year-old left the city for a competitive bid in Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. There, he enjoyed the advantage of being the only supplier from "quake-affected areas".

"Everyone was interested in hearing about my personal experiences during the quake. They asked questions, listened to my stories and were amazed by Chengdu residents' puckish and humorous approach to facing the disaster. As a result, I won the bid."

In fact, the businessman says he never felt as if he was living in a "disaster-hit area".

"To me, the city is just nearby (to 'disaster-hit areas')," he says.

The tennis buff also says he had resumed his regiment of playing with friends two or three times a week.

"The only difference is that after the games, we go to better restaurants for our meals, because everyone is more optimistic about life after the quake," Zhang says. "Believe me, the city will recover quicker than outsiders could ever imagine."

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