Belarusian Girl Olga and Chongqing “Varosha”

Journalist Xiong Yi Journalist Tang Anbing

Decorated by Belarussian national flag and purple， blue， pink cornflowers， the store shelves neatly displayed commodities whose packages are printed with Belarusian words and patterns. "These milk， chocolate， vodka， and children's noodles and fruit paste are all natural foods that originated in Belarus." At this grocery store called Varosha， the blond girl Olga， was introducing the "Best Products” to her customers in rather standard Mandarin.

According to the official news of the Belarusian Embassy in Beijing， "Varosha"， opened on January 11 in Chongqing， is China's first Belarussian natural food direct-sale store. Why Chongqing？ What kind of story between "Varosha"s （also known as the transliteration of the Russian word for “cornflower”） brand founder Olga and China， and Chongqing？ Actually， the story itself could be more fascinating than the dazzling array of products.

Olga Zelkovskaya was born in Minsk， Belarus， who first came to China in the year of 2009. "The first city I have been in China is Chongqing，" said Olga， "that year I studied in Chongqing University and specialized in Chinese for 1 year." In March 2017， Chongqing and Minsk officially became sister cities， which made it more justified to say that Olga is deeply bonded with Chongqing.

"How old were you the first time you came to Chongqing？" In the face of the reporter's question， she answered wittily， " I spent three years studying in Minsk in the major of intercultural communication， and I was born under the zodiac sign of dragon！" In Chongqing， she had such a happy time learning， meeting friends， and she began to understand Chinese culture. Her favorite and first Chinese philosophical book is the Russian version of the Tao Te Ching， which foreshadows her choice of China after graduation.

In 2011， Olivia came to Beijing and successfully entered the Embassy of Belarus in Beijing as a translator with excellent Chinese ability. After that， she tried news work and did program editing on the CCTV Russian channel. In 2014， she was matriculated in the Department of Philosophy， Peking University for master's degree as she has always wished， and she is preparing for this year's graduation dissertation defense.

Olga， who has a very rich history of pursuing study and working， made an even more meaningful choice in 2017 - creating the "Varosha" brand， bringing Belarussian natural foods like beef， milk， rapeseed oil， honey， flour， chocolate， jam to China.

"I have learned through exchanges with friends in Chongqing that China-EU （Chongqing） container train is a China-EU international freight train with the earliest， largest and strongest driving force in the central and western regions of China， and now it takes only 12 days or so one way and nearly a month's time is saved than sea shipping. I surmise， to bring the best quality natural food in Belarus to Chinese consumers is the best choice for all，” said Olga.

Belarus is located in the eastern part of Europe. Its eastern part and northern part are adjacent to the Russian Federation. The southern part is bordered by Ukraine， and the western part is adjacent to Poland， Lithuania and Latvia. Its land area is 207，600 square kilometers and its population is less than 10 million. Blue sky， green grass， pleasant weather， it boasts one of the top five dairy exporters. Since 2011， China Railway Express （Chongqing） has linked China with Belarus， bringing more opportunities for business cooperation between the two peoples. The close business cooperation between China and Belarus has become an important part of the "Belt and Road" international cooperation.

"Good news lately is that China Railway Express （Chongqing） will begin to stop in Minsk， Belarus around the Spring Festival this year， and our products will be delivered to the dinner table of Chongqing people more easily and conveniently through this 'fast track'. " Olga said that is why she opened the first Belarusian natural food direct-sale store in Chongqing. Next， she will open more Varosha chain stores in Chengdu and Beijing to make it more accessible for local residents to buy Belarussian natural products.

Tr. by He Jing