Yang Yunhui, a 36-year-old Beijing resident, was searching for her future at last month's 13th China Franchise Expo. She is hoping start her own business.

"I plan to invest 10 million yuan (1.05 million euros), and my ultimate target is KFC. But it seems that they are not recruiting franchisees in first-tier cities," Yang says.

Yang is among the thousands of visitors who came to the expo with money and desire to join the team of franchisees in China.

More than 22,000 people from across the country attended the three-day expo, most of them looking for franchise opportunities. Similar to the enthusiasm of franchisees, nearly half of the stalls in the 16,000-square-meter exhibition center have already been booked for next year’s expo.

As a main gauge of the franchise market in China, the China Franchise Expo reflects the growth of franchises in this country.

To read more of the story, please get a copy of the newspaper at a European news stand or visit europe.chinadaily.com.cn on Friday.