Harvard business grad opens etiquette shop in Beijing's Sanlitun

Institute Sarita opens its first concept store in Sanlitun, Beijing,on Thursday. [Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Etiquette is not only about one's refined appearance, but about an inner love of life and a respect for others, said Sara Jane Ho, founder of the high-end school of etiquette Institute Sarita.

On Thursday, Ho lectured on Western-style food etiquette at the opening ceremony of Institute Sarita's first concept store in the Sanlitun shopping district in Beijing.

Ho, a Harvard Business School graduate, founded Institute Sarita in 2012 aiming to share the international style of etiquette with more Chinese people. The idea to establish her own etiquette school spawned out of a visit to Institut Villa Pierrefeu, a world-renowned fishing school in Switzerland.

Rebecca Li, CEO of Institute Sarita, says that as more Chinese go global and as more people come to China, Chinese people need international etiquette training on business interactions and social events. The institute gives tips on the proper ways of greeting people from different countries, how to establish friendships, how to express yourself gracefully and how to host different types of occasions.

A two-week course at Institute Sarita costs 100,000 yuan ($16,340; 12,920 euros). Li says they now have now businesspeople flying in from Shanghai, Guangzhou and Taiwan to seek the institute's guidance.

The Sanlitun shop will be an etiquette training center and is slated to hold more "cultural salons" in the near future.