Chinese university student creates a buzz with cheap campus haircuts
- Ding Weijie, 19, is studying new energy vehicles at the college in Sichuan, but he’s found his skills as a self-taught barber are in demand
An enterprising student is creating a buzz at a university campus in southwest China, where his cheap and reliable haircuts are in demand.
Ding Weijie, 19, opened an “express hairdressing salon” in his dormitory at the Sichuan Hope Automotive Vocational College in early November, Chengdu Economic Daily reported on Friday.
Although Ding is self-taught, his hairdressing skills have already turned heads on the campus in Ziyang. His 5 to 6 yuan (73 to 87 US cents) cuts for men have become so popular that appointments need to be booked a few days in advance.
The first-year student, whose major is new energy vehicles, said he had been looking for a way to make some extra cash.
“After I started university, I wanted to find a part-time job to earn some money for my living costs,” Ding, who is from Yibin in Sichuan province, told the newspaper.
He initially took a job as a dishwasher in the university canteen, but it did not pay well and left him with little time for studying.
But Ding knew he enjoyed cutting hair – he has cut his own since high school – and although he has never been trained, he spent some weeks working at a local salon during his high school holidays.