NANYANG, China. For many young people in this poor farming community, becoming certified in foot massage, or reflexology, offers the chance of a gainful vocation in the growing trade.

A classroom in an old building here is filled with enthusiastic students intently studying and prodding the soles of a half-dozen human feet.

The Lotus Foot Massage Yangguang Vocational School trains students to be reflexologists based on Oriental medicine.

The school, which opened its doors in June 2006, is managed under the auspices of Beijing-based Lotus Foot Massage Co. The company operates more than 200 reflexology outlets across China.

The Yangguang school accepts up to 300 trainees for its two-month program. Most are women aged 20 or younger who come from poor farming families. All the students are boarders, and tuition is free.

Zhou Tuan, 17, recently joined the school. After a lesson, her fingers are sore from all the pressing and kneading she has done to a pair of feet. She is also having a challenging time memorizing the key points on the feet that are said to be linked to the body’s internal organs.

Despite the hardship, she is thrilled to be a student at the school, learning a new trade. More than 400 students have completed their training at the school.

In a typical eight-hour day of classroom instruction, students study reflexology theory and hone their hands-on skills. To build up strength in their arms that the physically strenuous job requires, they do pushups before and after classes.

The ability to communicate with customers during a session is a vital part of the job. So in the evenings they watch TV news programs to keep up with current affairs. To polish their social manners, the students also study the teachings of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius.

The eight instructors at the school are all medical school graduates who also have a coveted state certificate as first-class reflexologists.

“There are 63 key massage points on both feet. Reflexology is as effective as a full-body massage,” boasted the school’s deputy chief, Shen Junyang, 25.

Reflexology, he said, covers the area from the knees to the soles of the feet.  Stimulating the 63 points promotes blood circulation, thus opening up the routes for what the Chinese call qi, or life energy.  Reflexology requires that students master the art of applying proper pressure to each point.

“We are not medical doctors, so we can’t tell our customers what diseases they may have. But we can tell them which internal organ has a problem,” Shen said.

Lotus Foot Massage Co. employs more than 4,000 foot masseurs around China. The starting salary is 700 yuan (about US$100) a month. But a qualified first-class foot reflexologist can earn 3,000 yuan (about US$400). The pay is attractive, given that the starting salary for a university graduate in Shanghai is about 2,000 yuan (about US$260). However, there is a drawback. Reflexology is a labour intensive job that practitioners can do only in their youth. Most retire by the age of 30.

Zhou’s story is typical of many of the students at Yangguang.

She was born in a farming village about 40 kilometers from the school. Along with her parents and younger brother, the family struggled to make ends meet by raising wheat and other products on the farm. But the family’s annual income never rose above 4,000 yuan (about US$525), which is below the national average.

Attracted by the excitement of city life, she dropped out of high school–despite the objection of her parents–and moved to Shenzhen in Guangdong province where she found work at an electronic machinery factory.

But without her family, Shenzhen was a lonely place where she toiled in the factory 12 hours a day. She often cried herself to sleep while remembering the happy life she had left behind.

“I thought that even if I continued to work in the factory, I would not acquire any skills. So, I quit my job in order to master a new trade,” she recalled. In the end, she returned home after a year and four months in Shenzhen.

Back home, she learned that many women in her area worked as reflexologists. Through her cousin’s introduction, who also works as a reflexologist, Zhou was able to enroll in Yangguang school. Her goal, once she is certified and working, is to send 70 percent of her salary to her family.

“If I’m able to save some money, I want to learn how to use a computer and become a secretary at a company,” she said. Nanyang, a city of 11 million, is primarily an agriculture community, but farms are small and productivity is low. It is estimated that a total of 1.89 million people have left to seek work elsewhere as migrant laborers.

But learning reflexology has caught on here as a means to a job that pays a respectable salary. And more than 500,000 Nanyang citizens work as reflexologists throughout China.

As China’s economy continues to expand, more people are taking a keen interest in their health. The rising popularity of reflexology in affluent cities is leading to a serious shortage of qualified practitioners.
Every Chinese New Year in February, staffers of reflexology companies from around China descend on Nanyang to recruit young masseurs.

Lotus operates 28 foot massage parlours in Shanghai with some 600 foot masseurs, of whom 80 percent come from Nanyang. As the company continues to expand, it has opened a training centre in Shanghai.

Foot masseurs receive intensive training for a month to a month and a half before they begin working. A career in the business can be lucrative.

Last year, Nanyang native Lu Xiaoli, 23, a reflexologist at one of the 28 Lotus Foot Massage outlets in Shanghai, became the company’s highest paid employee, earning an average of some 5,500 yuan (about US$725) a month.

With her gift for gab and skilled hands, Lu has become a popular practitioner, attracting more than 100 regular customers.

Many younger reflexologists who are just starting out look to her as a role model. In Nanyang, Lu lived with her large family where her father worked as a small farmer. However, when he tried to start a money-lending business, it went bankrupt, throwing the family deep into debt.

Lu was forced to quit school and work in a medical supplies factory in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, to help support her family. But even after working long shifts every day, she only managed to take in a meagre 1,500 yuan per month.

She scraped by on 50 yuan a month, often subsisting on a meagre diet of instant noodles so that she could send the rest of her salary to her family. But her wages were never enough to pay off her father’s huge debt.

“I was the only person in my family who was able to help out financially. So I was always thinking about making more Money,” she recalled.

Through the introduction of an acquaintance, she relocated to Shanghai and became a reflexologist. The move has paid dividends as she has helped settle about 70 percent of her father’s debt. She has also given money to her elder sister so she can enroll in junior college.

“I’m doing my job with all my heart,” Lu said. “My dream is to return to my hometown and open a tailoring shop.”

Source: (IHT/Asahi: May 31,2007)