Manners maketh man, and China's wealthy

Image Collective Communication offers a variety of high-end lifestyle courses targeted at China's high net worth individuals, including wine tasting and table manners. [Photo provided to China Daily]

While Ho conceded that the popularity of such schools are on the decline in the West, she insisted that many wealthy families around the world still acknowledge the importance of possessing good etiquette.

"Western parents send their children to Switzerland or similar schools in the UK for the same reason that the Chinese are now studying etiquette－they understand that the world we live in is very global," said Ho, who was born in Hong Kong and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy, an elite boarding school in the United States.

Available to women only, Ho's school offers two courses for married (the hostess course) and single individuals (the debutante course) to learn social etiquette and protocol, including dress sense, table manners and business etiquette. Her students range from wealthy wives and successful businesswomen to young people from the second generation of rich families across the country. The courses are conducted mainly by Ho and her business partner and each 10-day program costs 80,000 yuan ($12,587).

"Today's modern woman has to take on the roles of wife, mother, daughter and businesswoman. She needs to be polished not only in her dress sense but also in social skills and know how to behave in various settings," said Ho.

Vivian Gu, a customer who runs a language school in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, said that she has gained much from Ho's hostess course.

"It has taught me how to be a more elegant wife who is able to appear in formal parties with good manners. It has also made me a better mother who is capable of being a role model for my daughter," said Gu.

Ho's debutante courses are often attended by girls as young as 14, the majority of whom are from wealthy families who see the training as a good way to prepare their children for overseas education.

"The course helps with the transition to life in another country and it helps me obtain basic knowledge on how to communicate with others on formal occasions," said Joyce Feng, a 21-year-old university student in Canada who took a course in Institute Sarita two years ago.