Philippine housemaids have not received the welcome that people expected in Beijing, since they set foot in the city in March.

There are an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 Philippine maids on the Chinese mainland, with up to 300 in Beijing, where four agencies offer their services.

Yet employers of Philippine maids in Beijing are mostly from Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas, and include very few native families, local media have reported.

Wealthy white-collar professionals with a good command of English are the main employers of Philippine maids, an agency manager who declined to be named was quoted by the Beijing-based Global Times newspaper as saying.

"Beijing needs at least 200,000 home servants every year, of whom three to five percent must be skilled professionals, and Philippine maids probably account for one percent," he said.

The exorbitant cost is one reason why Beijingers are preferring to stick with native Chinese maidservants.

Besides the 350 to 400 U.S. dollars for the monthly salary, employers must pay about 1,060 U.S. dollars in fees for training, visas, employment permits, physical examinations, insurance and annual flights for a Philippine maid. The agencies also demand a month's salary in bond for the maid and a deposit of around 300 U.S.dollars.

The average monthly salary of Beijing residents, by contrast, was about 340 U.S. dollars last year, according to the Beijing Statistical Bureau.

Employers must wait one or two months for the maid's arrival after choosing a maid from the Internet and signing a contract with an agency.

On arrival, maids and their bosses face obstacles in communication, lifestyle and cuisine.

Mr. Wu, a businessman from Singapore, fired his Philippine maid because she was incapable of cooking Chinese food properly and he worried about the influence of her Philippine accent on his children, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Wu has since hired a Chinese servant for just over 100 U.S. dollars a month, a relatively high salary for a native maid, according to the newspaper.

Philippine servants, nevertheless, have an international reputation for their high-quality service and cheerful temperaments.

Mr. Chen, who works for a foreign-funded company in Beijing, said his breakfast is ready and his home and car cleaned when he gets up every day.

"She likes to sing and sometimes dance while working, and that makes me happy too," he said.