With modern China's rise to greatness have emerged new kinds of elite in the country, dramatically different from the political class that has guided the nation since 1949.

Young, rich, cosmopolitan and well connected, many are the overseas educated progeny of families that made fortunes in the postreform boom years of the 1980s and 1990s – what is known in popular culture as 'fuerdai (富二代)'.

Spared the nation’s agonies in the 20th century, Chinas new elites are the pinnacle of a gilded generation. Sometimes the beneficiaries of eye-popping inherited wealth, their extravagant lifestyles have frequently attracted media finger-wagging in a country where poverty and thrift were long the norm.

Yet for millions of Chinese millennials, more attuned to mobile commerce than Marxist ideology, these new, young rich represent an ideal version of material success to be aspired to and imitated.

This fascinating collection of images by British photographer Jonathan Browning comprises a snapshot of a social class whose self image is a highly variegated mix of international designer brands and traditional Chinese, reconfigured in a country still coming to terms with its status as a 21st century superpower.

Glorious! In Search of China's New Elites was published by 3030 Press as a limited edition of 1,000 copies.