School teachers how to marry a billionaire

By Han Manman

Want to marry into money but don’t know how? Fear not. A local training school is promising to teach the secrets.

“Today, marrying a rich man has become the goal for many of China’s Cinderellas,” according to Beijing Moral Education Center’s promotional material.

The school’s new 10-hour program costs 2,000 yuan and promises to send students away with the life skills needed to win the hearts of wealthy men.

Courses include makeup and fashion, etiquette and how to read a man’s personality through his facial expressions.

Shao Tong, one of the school’s teachers, endorsed the program as necessary for those seeking to marry money.

She said being able to perform well on the first date, the time when they will be most scrutinized, is what leads many women to victory.

“They watch the way you eat, the food you order and how you talk to the waiter to judge if you are wife material,” she said.

Since its opening, the school has received attention from many local women.

Instructors advise going to places that the rich frequent, such as fancy bars and private clubs, learning proper restaurant and dining etiquette, studying formal dress, staying indifferent when presented with luxury gifts and avoiding insincere flattery.

China has more billionaires than any country except the US. According to the Forbes 2011 rich list, the mainland almost doubled its billionaire count during the last year.

Experts pointed out that the school’s program reflects changing attitudes towards love and marriage. Many young women who are postponing marriage due to financial concerns see marrying money as a shortcut to happiness.

A recent survey conducted by the Women’s Federation of Guangzhou found that 60 percent of college girls want to marry men born into rich families who stand to inherit large amounts of assets from their parents.

Columnist and commentator Lu Guoping said that while it is not wrong for women to want to marry a billionaire, their worship of money and abuse of marriage as a tool to buy success does not deserve to be encouraged.

“The popularity of this course only shows that social values have changed. It’s a tragedy for modern women,” he said.