Etiquette class teaches attendees how to adapt overseas

At an etiquette class held at The Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street, Chinese attendees learned the intricate rules of traditional Western dining manners, including drinking from the same part of the glass, only eating caviar with certain spoons and never putting your elbows on the table.

"There is only one circumstance for women to put their elbows on the table, and that's when they show their ring finger to let the gentlemen around know if she is married or available for a date," said Guillaume Rue de Bernadac, the teacher and founder of French manners training company Academie De Bernadac.

The hotel provided only 15 seats, costing 3,688 yuan ($553) for each adult for a whole day course, according to Suzie Tang, public relations director of the hotel.