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11/02/2024 01:23:30 pm

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The Next Big Thing For China’s Wealthy: Etiquette Classes

Dining Etiquette

(Photo : Reuters) A student serves a sauce on asparaguses during a session on English dinning during the Intensive Etiquette Courses at the Institut Villa Pierrefeu in Glion near Montreux, western Switzerland, October 22, 2013. In their heyday before feminism stirred in the 1960s, European aristocrats sent their daughters to finishing schools in safe, neutral Switzerland to polish their manners and prepare them for married life. About half a dozen such schools once flourished in the French-speaking Alps, but the others have closed as young women have instead chosen to attend university and pursue careers. Now part of the demand for the last surviving school is coming from a very different segment of the population - men. Picture taken October 22, 2013. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND - Tags: EDUCATION SOCIETY)

From investors visas to properties in London, and of course, Prada outfits and Gucci bags, wealthy Chinese are snapping up a lot of things on the global market as the number of affluent Sinos keeps on growing. However, it is not only branded and luxury goods they are investing into, but also western lifestyle education. This ensures that they would not only look rich, but act like the old rich from the West.

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Western entertainment companies, in fact, have noticed the rising phenomenon of mega wealthy Chinese women living overseas that a Canadian company is broadcasting an online reality show titled Ultra Rich Girls, which chronicles the lives of rich Chinese-Canadians in Vancouver. The show has also spawned a parody, Ultra Cheap Asian Boys of Vancouver, which pokes fun at what these rich, young Chinese males lack that a lot of their countrymen are acquiring at hefty prices.


One such company cashing in on educating uber rich Chinese is Seatton, a culture and etiquette firm from the United Kingdom that opened a sort of finishing school. The things that James Hebbert, managing director of Seatton, teaches which aims to help the Chinese learners avoid embarrassing themselves abroad while on business or holiday include dressing properly, proper use of spoons, forks and knives, the correct way to shake hands and wearing a cravat.

"It used to be China's rich were all about buying luxury brands to show their status, but now the focus is on consuming knowledge as a way to differentiate," CNN, in an exclusive report, quotes Hebbert.

His potential market is quite big since the number of Chinese millionaires in 2013 jumped to 2.4 million households from 1.5 million the previous year, according to Boston Consulting Group.

The big market has also some service providers to specialize such as finishing school Institute Sarita which focuses on debutants and older married females. Sara Jane Ho, founder of Sarita, disclosed that her older students has shifted their attention from just buying expensive bags made by Chanel to pursuing higher standards in life.

For the average Chinese worker whose annual pay was estimated by the International Labor Organization at 28,752 yuan or the equivalent of $4,755 in 2012, the cost of Sarita's courses would be equivalent to about four years wages. But to the wealthy Chinese, Sarita's 12-day class that costs $16,345 is worth it as they are taught social etiquette associated with the high-end market. Topics cover ways to host a dinner party, official and diplomatic protocol and the proper way to act when in hotels and expensive dining establishments. Students also learn how to pronounce correctly the name of expensive brands that are tongue twisters such as Louis Vuitton and Mouawad.

Wealthy Chinese are snapping up properties in global cities not only as an investment and to serve as a vacation house but also a place where their kids could stay while studying abroad. That is one of the reasons why Ho has a hostess course that covers parenting techniques that even covers tips on how to select ponies for their pre-teens who dream of becoming equestrian riders like Prince William or Prince George when he grows older.

Having that kind of knowledge allows them to have higher chances of being admitted to an excellent boarding school or top university in the U.S. or U.K., Ho added.

If these rich Asians would learn their etiquette lessons fast enough, then parodies like Ultra Cheap Asian Boys of Vancouver - which has more viewers than the original reality show - would have little fodder to draw on as the young Chinese in Canada move from eating at fast food chains and hanging out at malls to dining at five-star hotels while impeccable dressed in Zegna suits and driving no longer Honda Civics but BMWs or Jaguars.

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