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- Chinese men are using apps to hire fake girlfriends, and the story of a woman who got 700 offers illustrates the country's growing marriage problem
Chinese men are using apps to hire fake girlfriends, and the story of a woman who got 700 offers illustrates the country's growing marriage problem
Zhao Yuqing is a 24-year-old blogger from Beijing, China. Last year, she joined a girlfriend-for-hire service to get the experience of being someone's holiday companion.
Lunar New Year is the busiest time of year for these "instant girlfriends," who can command as much as $1,450 a day during the holiday week. Yuqing, on the other hand, stated in her online ad that she would only charge for transportation.
Source: Reuters
She sifted through 700 applications before selecting Wang Quanming, a website operator in his early thirties from a rural town in southern China. "He is being pressured to find a wife and his need to rent a girlfriend is real," Yuqing told Reuters.
Source: Reuters
Beijing is more than 2,000 kilometers away from Quanming's hometown. After dropping her dogs off at a pet-care center, Yuqing started the long journey to meet her client.
Source: Reuters
She took a quick nap at the Beijing airport with bags of traditional food and gifts for Quanming's family.
Source: Reuters
After landing in Quanzhou, the blogger arranged to meet up with Quanming the night before they were due at his parents' house.
Source: Reuters
They spent the night getting acquainted at his apartment and going over the details of their fake long-term relationship.
Source: Reuters
Before driving to the village, they wrote up a contract with Yuqing's conditions for the three-day visit: no kissing, no sleeping together, and no alcohol, although she did offer to help with household chores.
Source: Reuters
The next day, the fake couple finally drove out to Anxi County to meet Quanming's parents.
Source: Reuters
Inside the house, Quanming's mother gifted Yuqing with locally-produced tea that Anxi County is famous for.
Source: Reuters
Then it was time for a family meal, where the fake couple could share some of the details they'd rehearsed the night before.
Source: Reuters
But overall, the family honored Quanming's request to leave the pair alone and not ask too many questions about their relationship.
Source: Reuters
One of the reasons Yuqing chose Quanming over all the other applicants was because she had never visited a rural area before.
Source: Reuters
"The special situation in the village magnifies everything," Yuqing told Reuters. "They face a greater urgency to marry, so that makes it much harder to find a truly suitable other half."
Source: Reuters
After the weekend was over, Quanming eventually came clean to his parents about the deception. They seemed to handle it well. "At the start, I didn't know they were cheating me," his mother said. "I'm over 50. I don't understand what these young people get up to, but I wasn't angry."
Source: Reuters
Meanwhile, Quanming said not much has changed since the holiday. "My mother's core demand for me to marry early still exists," he said.
Source: Reuters
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