Mohanad Shalabi came to China in 2000 and began working at a restaurant owned by his uncle in Guangzhou. In 2002, he moved to Yiwu and opened his first restaurant, Ward (which means "flower" in Arabic), in 2004. 

2000年，穆罕奈德来到中国，开始在广州叔叔开的餐厅工作。2002年他来到了义乌，2004年他拥有了第一家独立经营的阿拉伯餐馆——花餐厅。

In 2014, in order to increase business, Mohanad worked with a few friends to find a suitable location to open Beyti Restaurant. He explained that in Arabic, "Beyti" (transliterated to Chinese as 贝迪) means "my home". He said he wants to make every customer feel at home when eating at his restaurant.

2014年，为了有更好的经营环境，穆罕奈德和几个朋友合作，重新选址开了现在这家贝迪餐厅。穆罕奈德说，在约旦“贝迪”的意思就是“我家”，他想让每个客人到餐厅后都有回家的感觉。

How he runs his restaurant

"Since our clients come to 'my house' to dine, we offer them whatever they want," Mohanad said. His restaurant is frequented by mostly Chinese customers. It offers 300 hot dishes and 16 cold ones, all freshly made. Every customer can enjoy a sense of novelty at ordering new dishes.

“既然是来‘我家’吃饭，客人想吃什么我们就提供什么。”穆罕奈德说，目前餐厅中国客人比外国客人还要多，任何人到这里都能找到他们想要的口味。餐厅有300多种菜品，16个冷盘，每天更换品种，让客人每次来都有新鲜感。

Beyti Restaurant is popular among netizens, which translates to more customers. "Many customers greet me as if they personally know me. Even if I don't know them, I greet them warmly, asking them what they think of our dishes and how we can improve them."

贝迪餐厅算得上是一家网红餐厅，慕名而来的人很多。“很多客人都会跟我打招呼，虽然我不认识，但我也会热情招呼他们，问一问他们对菜品的意见，及时改进。”

Many other international restaurants are located near Beyti, but Beyti's business has continued to grow, and the more than 400 seats are full nearly every day. Mohanad is not afraid of competition. In fact, he is willing to offer advice to others on how to run a restaurant - the dishes must be good, the environment must be clean, the menu must be varied, and changes must be made according to the needs of the customers. 

在贝迪餐厅附近，聚集了不少异国风味的餐厅，但贝迪的生意一直红火，同时容纳400多人就餐的餐厅几乎天天满座。穆罕奈德直言不惧竞争，他也分享了自己经营餐厅的经验：菜要好吃，环境要干净，菜品要丰富，还要根据客人的需求不断创新。

In 2007, in addition to his restaurant, Mohanad established a foreign trade company, as Yiwu is home to many small commodities needed by Middle Eastern countries. In Yiwu, domestic and international logistics systems are well developed, making it cheap and convenient to place orders, purchase and load goods, and prepare for shipping.

2007年，除了经营餐厅之外，穆罕奈德开了一家外贸公司，因为中东国家需要的一些小商品，义乌货源充足。在义乌，国内国际物流发达，订货、采购、装货和发货既省钱又省时间。

"Yiwu is wonderful. Both the people and the government here are very good," said Mohanad. He has received a lot of help in Yiwu over the years, and he has also passed on this kindness to others. He often informs other Arabic speakers about the newest policies, regulations, and changes taking place in China and helps mediate economic disputes between businessmen of different nationalities. 

“义乌很好，这里的人和政府部门都很好。”穆罕奈德说，这些年在义乌，他接受过不少帮助，他也把这份善意传递给了更多人。他经常把最新的中国国情、政策和法律法规讲给阿拉伯同胞听，还帮忙调解不同国籍间商人的经济纠纷。

At the end of June 2014, thanks to his mediation experience, he was employed by the People's Mediation Committee for Foreign-Related Disputes in Yiwu. Mohanad explained, "The Belt and Road Initiative has been attracting a larger number of people to Yiwu to do business. I am happy to help more people establish and expand their businesses here."

2014年6月底，凭着丰富的调解经验，他还受聘于义乌市涉外纠纷人民调解委员会，成为了一名外籍“老娘舅”。穆罕奈德说：“一带一路让更多的人想来义乌做生意，我愿意出一分力，让更多人在义乌把生意做好、做大。”

"I love China and Yiwu very much. I have set up roots here. My wife and children have been living in Yiwu for more than 10 years, and we don't plan on leaving. This is my home," Mohanad said.

“我非常热爱中国，热爱义乌，我把根扎在了中国。我和妻子、孩子们在义乌安家10多年了，从没打算离开过，这里就是我的家。”穆罕奈德说。

(Text by Sheng Zan, photos provided by the interviewee, translated by Marco Lovisetto, edited by Kendra Fiddler)