Rupert Hoogewerf, a British man who has made many lists about Chinese millionaires, spend much time working and dining with rich people in China, the China Youth Daily reported.

In July this year, he organized two evening parties in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, inviting local business elites to have dinner with him. Over cups of whiskies, they discussed different business rules and lifestyles.

However, this time Rupert Hoogewerf noticed that his Chinese business friends are a little bit different from years ago.

In Ningbo, a Chinese businessman invited Rupert Hoogewerf to taste wine at his home. Several years previously, when Rupert first met him, the Chinese rich man had only just begun to demonstrate some interest in wines. Now, he is a sort of professional wine collector –he has kept several wine cabinets at his house where the best grades of wines are stored. Some brands even sells at 10,000 euros a bottle.

When Rupert lived in Luxembourg, he and his parents often had some wine at dinner. In fact, such is a part of the local culture. In Europe, many people know something about wines. Now, Rupert Hoogewerf has realized that his Chinese friend’s knowledge about wines is much richer than him. In fact, the Chinese business man has spent a lot of time travelling abroad. His life has become very globalized.

In Ningbo, another Chinese businessman invited Rupert to dine with him at a Japanese restaurant. This time, Rupert noticed that his Chinese friend was very familiar with Japanese dishes.

When Rupert travelled to Chengdu, a local Chinese millionaire also discussed wines with him. They drank an expensive red wine (which might be sold at 9,000 yuan a bottle), and smoked some fine cigars. Even more surprisingly, when the clock struck twelve at midnight and they both felt a little bit hungry, the rich man asked him whether he would like to have some Spanish ham.

That's Rupert's favorite dish! In fact, Rupert didn't think that the Chinese man was showing off his wealth—this was not a question of money. He thought the man really liked to try the way of living like that of an overseas Chinese and he was moved by his sincere attitude.

In the past, when Rupert dined with his Chinese business friends, on most of the occasions they would have Chinese dishes. In recent years, however, Rupert has noticed that things have begun to change.

Furthermore, he has noticed that most Chinese businesspeople now spend more time enjoying life. They no longer work as hard as before. They even have found some people to take care of their business so that they can leave more time for themselves. Although most Chinese managers still work very hard now, things might change in future.

(chinanews.cn August 22, 2007)