downton abbey is one of britain's most successful television dramas and it seems the show has even influenced affluent households thousands of miles away in china young chinese people are paying £140 per day to train as butlers as an increasing number of wealthy families hire help, the people's daily online reported students at the international butler academy, in chengdu, are drilled daily on ironing perfect creases into tablecloths, polishing silverware and identifying the correct cutlery to accompany an eight course banquet students at the international butler academy in chengdu, china, pay £140 per day to train as butlers as an increasing number of wealthy chinese families hire help  tasks also include balancing a platter  and placing food on a plate using just a fork and spoon thomas kaufmann, head instructor at the school, said: 'downton abbey is so famous here in china, that is the standard we are measured at 'in the last few years the demand for butlers has become bigger and bigger so it is logical for us to have teachers here' mr hu is one of dozens of students who have enrolled in the school's six week course, which costs 40,000 yuan (£4,300) he previously worked for us casino magnate steve wynn, where tasks included wiping fingerprints from his phone and picking out particular chocolates from assortment packs he said: 'in the whole world there are more and more rich people and especially in china, they want someone to take care of the smaller things they are drilled daily on ironing perfect creases into tablecloths, polishing silverware and identifying the correct cutlery to accompany an eight course banquet  students must also be able to put food on a plate just using a fork and spoon above, a pupil uses plastic balls to train  the boom in butlers matches a growing interest in british television drama downton abbey above, head butler carson and mrs hughes in the hit show  'butlers don't only serve wealthy families, but also multinational bosses these people are successful to make these kind of people feel relaxed and happy, i get a sense of achievement' each morning classes start with a round of dusting, cleaning and polishing students are also expected to be able to correctly position a water jug a butter knife laid a centimetre out of place can lead to failure using rulers to make sure the distances are correct is not unknown another student chrissy yan described the training   especially laying a table   as 'hard' but she said: 'i want to lead a team of chinese butlers which will be known worldwide i want to be asked to travel the world' the academy, a beautiful house, opened in response to the increasing demand for domestic servants  men and women are allowed to train as butlers and complete the same tasks before they finish above, two students pour tea  cutlery, plates and jugs have to be perfectly in line and students fail if they are a centimetre out of place  a butler can typically expect to earn 20,000 yuan (£2,150) a month their duties also include more mundane tasks such as fetching groceries, walking the dog, organising cleaning staff and polishing furniture and shoes the academy is dutch run but partly backed by a chinese real estate firm, which offers butler services to potential homeowners as the property market gets tougher mr kaufmann added: 'it is easier to train a chinese person in the butler trade than it is to train a western butler in chinese language and culture' china is home to more than a million people with assets above £1million, according to wealth publisher hurun between 2004 and 2010 the number of chinese billionaires rose from three to 64  a short stroll away from the academy a billboard for a new housing estate shows a grinning man in a suit and bow tie, promising to bring 'the elegance of british butlering service into everyday life' a spokesman for developer langji real estate, said: 'we provide a butler for each private villa our customers have been very happy' china is home to more than a million people with assets above £1million, according to wealth publisher hurun between 2004 and 2010 the number of chinese billionaires rose from three to 64 the country's elite have employed servants for centuries and numbers are expected to swell in coming years
40,000 yuan six weeks international butler academy above £1million china 4,300
international butler academy charges 40,000 yuan (£4,300) for six weeks  tasks include polishing and placing a water jug correctly on a table  china is home to more than a million people with assets above £1million 