Young, rich and dedicated to style

By Yu Ran (China Daily) Updated: 2015-08-10 07:55

Crystal Yu takes a vacation every two months as trips are an important part of her lifestyle. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A young woman is strutting down the catwalk in a pristine white Stella Lam evening gown as 50 immaculately dressed guests dine on beautifully plated fine cuisine prepared by a Michelin-starred chef.

The whole scene looks like a fashion show at first glance, but it is actually just Crystal Yu's 25th glitzy birthday party.

The celebrations even have a theme－this year's was Fifty Shades of Grey but there were no scandalous or lewd acts taking place, just a script-reading session where guests recite their favorite lines from the movie.

Last year's equally extravagant birthday party was themed after another blockbuster movie The Great Gatsby, and it's also one that Crystal says she can particularly relate to.

"My friends always call me The Great Crystal, in reference to The Great Gatsby who in the movie is also a character with a great mind that enjoys a high-quality life," said Crystal, who now runs her own wedding and event consultancy.

The company name? The Great Crystal.

"We are not partying for the sake of getting drunk. This is just a casual social occasion where I get to share with my friends my personality, my hobbies and my way of living," she added.

Those who do not know this pretty 25-year-old may label her as a fuerdai, or "rich second generation", a term used to describe young individuals who were born into wealthy families in the 1980s or later.

These offspring of the nouveau riche are often stereotyped for being spoilt, arrogant and sell-willed, with many known to senselessly splurge their parents' money and display a blatant disrespect for the law.

In 2009, a 20-year-old fuerdai named Hu Bin killed a man while speeding in his Mitsubishi sports car. The young man's dangerous driving and the reaction of his friends, who joked with each other after the accident, later sparked public outrage, which still exists today.

But Crystal, whose parents are wealthy bankers, refused to be labeled as such. She proudly claimed that she has been financially independent from her university days in Shanghai when she took on part-time jobs that gave her a monthly income of 8,000 yuan ($1,290).