Meet the Chinese mums paying US$11,000 for a month of luxury with their newborns
Chinese culture dictates that women confine themselves after giving birth, and those who can afford to are doing it in style
Yoga class starts soon, the pristine massage centre is open for business and cheesecake is served on a platter of pastries and fruit.
And then the muffled cry of a baby emerges down the hallway.
The setting may resemble a five-star hotel, but this is a “sitting centre” on Shanghai’s outskirts where mothers pay up to 70,000 yuan (US$10,900) a month to stay with their newborns.
Chinese culture dictates that mothers confine themselves after giving birth, also known as a “sitting month”.
Such confinement was once widely practised in many areas of the world and continues to be popular in other parts of Asia.
But as incomes rise in China, the sitting month no longer means being cooped up at home without bathing or visitors.