Single women on the rise in China, blind dates getting popular

Laura Zhang

Millennials are independent and picky

In an exclusive blind date club in Beijing, young professional millennials from different walks of life come with a mission – meeting an ideal other half. In an interview with South China Morning Post (SCMP), Pan Shan expressed her frustration over the situation as a single woman in China.

“I’m unwilling to expose myself to the public, but I don’t have much choice,” the 30-year-old white-collar worker told the media.

“But due to the pressure of my parents and my age, I chose this method to meet a partner – I can’t just neglect what they expect me to do at this age.”

Having completed both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in England, Pan pursued her career ambition by working for one of the top companies in Beijing. Cheerful, outspoken and confident, Pan is by no means an inferior choice for men. Pan reckons that people have been curious why she could not get married, hinting that 30-year-old is the last call for ladies to be considered desirable.

“Men of upper status are realistic, as they look for girls with looks and high qualifications.

“I like handsome, humorous, powerful and ambitious guys. But guys in this dating club is just too weak for me, because I’m an aggressive person,” Pan suggests that her partner should be more ambitious than her to “control” her.

Marriage is less essential than TV dramas

As of now, China’s population of singles has reached 200 million, as many as the entire populations of Russia and the UK combined. It is no longer the era whereby people uphold marriage as the ultimate goal of life.

Pan is not alone – girls in China frequently express that they are contended with being single.

A netizen on Weibo jokingly commented “I start to think of having a boyfriend only when I’m doing grocery shopping with heavy bags. But not anymore by the end of the year as I’m getting a car.”

“Are games not fun, or idols not handsome? Why get yourself into trouble by finding a boyfriend?” read another “hot” comment on Weibo.

Parents are anxious

August 28 was Valentine’s Day on lunar calendar this year, a perfect chance commonly taken by parents to interrrogate about “the lifetime event”, according to experiences shared by netizens. However, a trending news has been embraced by many, featuring an exceptional father who had transferred RMB520 (520 sounds like “I love you” in Chinese) to encourage the 35-year-old daughter not to be afraid of staying single.

“Your mother and I won’t pressure you. Please don’t care about how others would judge you. Live your life to the fullest,” written by the father in a message. This uncomplicated story had gone viral by touching the hearts of many, as it speaks for many singles.

Apart from blind dating events, China boasts many established agencies for the desperate and pressured millennials, such as zhenai.com, jiayuan.com, baihe.com.

Ironically, as people are challenging traditional norms by staying single, they often resort to a more traditional method – match-making.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja9FZ7ZVCBI