• e-mail

Trainee flight attendants in central China are taking etiquette lessons to new extremes with the use of chopsticks and various other handy items.

As well as balancing books on their heads for a straight posture, they are biting on chopsticks for a perfect smile, and placing a piece of A4 paper between their knees when standing straight. 

The students, who are from Sichuan South-west Vocational College of Civil Aviation in the Chinese city of Chengdu, were preparing for an upcoming exam which will allow them to become official stewards and stewardesses, reports the People's daily Online. 

+7

Extreme etiquette: Student air hostesses use chopsticks for the perfect smile and an inflight magazine for posture in Sichuan, China

+7

Competitive: In China the position of a flight attendant is considered to be an extremely lucrative job, and every year hundreds of thousands of young men and women apply

+7

Straight back: They have to balance a glass bottle on their heads for three minutes and keep smiling at the same time for ellegance

Pictures taken on January 26 show men and women standing in straight lines while balancing glass bottles or inflight magazines on their heads, as well as holding white paper between their legs.

While they are practising their skills, the women are dressed in red, white, blue, and grey uniforms, with full hair and make-up done. 

The men are wearing navy blue suits, accompanied by a light blue shirt and a grey tie.

As well as this, they have a chopstick in their mouths which they are biting down on between their teeth to maintain the high standards of a smiling face.

According to the report, one of the women said she had to master acrobatic skills in order to become a successful flight attendant.

Speaking to reporters, student Zhang Tongtong said: 'We not only have to balance a bottle on our head for three minutes, we have to keep smiling at the same time to demonstrate the elegance of flight attendants.

'In order to pass, we often practice by ourselves with a bottle. This is not just for the examination, it's to help us to be more graceful,' she said. 

The teacher at the college Xu Liqing, explained the reasons behind her schooling methods: 'In our normal training, we use wine bottles to help practice standing. 

'This is to train the students' gesture as well as their confidence.' 

+7

Paper training: The men and women were pictured on January 26 practicing their skills, he the women put A4 paper between their knees

+7

Bizarre: Men and women undergo rigorous etiquette and posture training to ensure that they represent their comapnay appropriately

In China, the position of an air hostess is considered to be an extremely competitive role, and every year hundreds of thousands of young women apply to be flight attendants.

In December last year, one school in Qingdao, north-east China, hosted an annual audition where more than 1,000 desperate graduates paraded in swimwear and airline uniforms in a bid to attract potentially lucrative contracts in aviation.

It's not just flight attendants in China who endure chopstick between the teeth training for a perfect smile.

Train attendants with the China Train Transportation Group in Chongqing, also embark on an etiquette course before beginning their duties where the attendants are taught how to get the perfect smile in the same way with a chopstick. 

They have to be able to achieve this grin even when tired at the end of a shift, or when faced with the most difficult customer. 

+7

Posture class: Student flight attendants sit crossed legged with a straight back, and a full head of hair and make-up done when training

+7

The aviation college in Chengdu, China's Sichuan Province, imposes some of the strictest training regimes for potential flight attendants