Yu Qian shows off his collection of flying jackets. The most expensive one costs almost 50,000 yuan. [Photo provided to China Daily]

It's an impressive amount to earn for a student, since the average monthly salary in Shanghai is about 7,100 yuan, according to a survey by recruitment portal Zhaopin.com.

One of those jobs was a marketing position at M1NT, one of Shanghai's most exclusive clubs.

"I really appreciate those years working at M1NT because it showed me the luxury world－not how to spend more money but how to enjoy life and have better taste in things," she said.

Crystal, who now makes a five-figure monthly salary as the boss of The Great Crystal, pays for all her designer wear and holidays herself. She said that she has always been an independent person－when she was 18, she chose to study in Shanghai, away from her home in Nantong, Jiangsu province. And unlike regular students who would spend their time at libraries and dormitories, she spent her free time organizing events and socializing with sophisticated people.

Unlike Crystal who spends most of her time and money on high-class events and luxurious trips, Yu Qian, whose father used to own four coal mines, has a more muted lifestyle－h(huán)e collects vintage clothing, particularly handmade jeans and flying jackets.

The 32-year-old is the founder of a company that offers personalized home theater facilities priced from 600,000 yuan to 2 million yuan for wealthy families in Chengdu, Sichuan province. The man said that he doesn't live the life of opulence or decadence－h(huán)e just loves collecting vintage wear, and admits to spending a small fortune on it.

"I like to buy original-colored jeans and wear them out. The colors then fade as time passes by," said Yu, who has been collecting traditionally handmade jeans from Japan since the age of 20. He now owns hundreds of pairs of such jeans.

However, it is his collection of flying jackets that he has invested more time and money into. Yu's wardrobe contains more than 30 such jackets, with colors ranging from light tan to dark brown. Some are adorned with World War II US Army Air Corps squadron patches and elaborate back artworks. Caricatures and patches of scantily-clad women, a Native American chief and even a Walt Disney-designed flying tiger accompanied by the insignia of the Flying Tigers, a US volunteer group that fought alongside the Chinese against Japan in World War II, were painted on the flight jackets.

"Collecting those nostalgic items requires a great deal of investment of time and money, but it also enriches my life with a deeper understanding of history and culture," said Yu.

He has now started to create his own flight jackets, designing the patterns and drawings according to history. Professional artists then paint on the handmade flight jackets that are purchased from Japan.

Yu has also created a section in an online forum for people to discuss his unique hobby.