HIGH DEMAND FOR FEMALE BODYGUARDS

　　They're smaller than their male counterparts, but they are the preferred choice of China's wealthy women and their families. This is the Tianjiao Special Guard and Security Consultant, a company that trains and supplies female bodyguards to the country's elite.

　　 Manager Chen Yongqing says demand from rich businesswomen is main driving force. Manager of Tianjiao Special Guard and Security Consultant Ltd. Co, Chen Yongqing: "In China, the market for male bodyguards is growing steadily. However, a social and market preference for female bodyguards has increased since last year.

　　 Many female entrepreneurs, celebrities and pop stars -- as well as their family members, children and parents -- all need female bodyguards for protection. So we are particularly focusing on training female bodyguards from this year." According to the Hurun report, about 30 percent of China's millionaires are women, and a widening wealth gap has made safety an issue for the country's rich.

　　 For this group of trainees, many of whom are graduates, it's a 4-week initiation course that covers basic skills like disarming an attacker, having bottles smashed on their heads to build endurance against such attacks, and of course, the all-important driving skills to make a quick getaway with their clients. Manager of Tianjiao Special Guard and Security Consultant Ltd. Co, Chen Yongqing: "To protect an important person, special driving skills are indispensable.

　　Driving takes up to 40 percent of the time during our missions, because the person we protect is always linked to the car when they are not working or resting. That's why we conduct special driving skills training." For bodyguard aspirant Sun Yiyao, it's also a chance to break stereotypes.

　　Sun Yiyao: "In China, women are seen as a vulnerable group, and society always looks down on them. However, almost everyone looks at a female bodyguard in a different way. As a woman, I'm very proud to be able to protect a man or even a group of people."

　　The pay is a draw as well, with graduates from a bodyguard course getting a minimum monthly salary of $800 (5,000 yuan), often earning much more than their male counterparts. The school itself charges $45,000 (280,000 yuan) a year for a full-time female bodyguard, who can take home a third of that. (Arnold Gay/ Reuters)

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