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Guangdong Has The 2nd Largest Population of “Leftover Women” in China

Posted: 11/17/2014 9:15 am

A woman reads single men’s profiles posted on a dating board.

Guangdong, the most populous Province in Southern China, is not only a draw for migrant workers; it also draws large numbers of single women. According to a list released by dating website, jiayuan.com., Guangdong has the second largest population of “leftover women” in China, second only to Beijing. Single women aged 27+ are generally considered to be ‘leftover women”, while men aged 30+ are considered “leftover men”.

The dating site attributed the high numbers of single women to the Cities’ work pressures, fast pace and lifestyle: about 80 percent reported that their life revolved around going to work and returning home. About 30 percent said they had no time for a relationship.

According to the report, Henan is home to the highest rate of bachelors, or “leftover men”, with 74 percent. The Yangcheng Evening News cited another report, indicating that “leftover” men and women invariably work as journalists, lawyers or public relations professionals. Journalists account for almost 20 percent of the China’s total leftover population, followed closely by lawyers at 18 percent, the report said. Among leftover men, computer techs are most likely to have a hard time finding a partner because, “they are introverted and socially awkward”.

Photos: China Daily 

 

Haohao
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Even 99 iPhones Not Enough to Win One Woman’s Heart

Posted: 11/10/2014 9:30 am

Since the inception of Singles’ Day in China several years ago, millions of singles throughout the country celebrate the day by trying to woo that special someone. Yet one young Guangzhou resident chose a rather unique method to express his love in the lead up to November 11: iPhones, and lots of them.

There’s been no shortage of reports detailing extravagant Singles’ Day gifts such as a new car, or giant diamonds, but one Guangzhou programmer instead opted for 99 iPhone 6s. To his credit, he organized the phones in the shape of heart before proposing to his girlfriend in front of a sizeable crowd of friends and onlookers.

The phones reportedly cost the man over RMB 500,000 (about $82,000), or roughly the equivalent of two years’ salary, Tencent News reported. Sadly, the grand gesture was lost on the woman, who rejected his proposal.

Thankfully, demand for the new iPhone remains high in China, so he shouldn’t have too much trouble reselling them as one Weibo user suggested. Others simply dismissed the guy’s move as stupid. One user, 韵母和韵父, asked “How many kidneys did it take to buy those phones?” referring to earlier reports of a young man selling his own kidney to buy an iPhone. Another user wrote, ” 99 kidneys!”

For those who might be wondering how November 11th was chosen as Singles’ Day, the answer resides in the four lonely “1″s that form the date: 11/11.

 Photos: Weibo 

Haohao
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China’s Generation of Lonely Men Leads to Boom In Virtual Girlfriends

Posted: 09/24/2014 2:09 pm

Spike Jonze’s 2013 movie Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix

When Spike Jonze’s 2013 movie Her hit the big screen, no one could have guessed how the fictional relationship between a human and an operating system could become a reality in the future. But now China’s popular e-commerce website Taobao is selling just that to lonely, young men looking for virtual companionship.

For just RMB 20 (US $3.26), you, too, can have the “girlfriend experience” through WeChat. As part of the service, you will be pampered with sweet morning wake-up calls, good night calls and be given a patient listener willing to hear all of your problems 24 hours a day, the report said. The new service is apparently all the rage in China at the moment.

A search of the term “virtual lover” into one e-commerce website generated more than 1,300 results of shops offering the service. One such shop has had 1,695 transactions since August 21, the newspaper said.

Men can choose different types of girlfriends, from a girl next door-type, diva, intellectual and even a “Lolita”. The service charges can range from RMB 20 a day to RMB 500 a month. The development of the “relationship” is categorized into three stages, namely the “knowing each other” stage, the “crazy in love” stage and the final stage in which a user can have “relationships” with, not just one, but three girls at the same time, one of the shop owners told the newspaper.

A screen grab of one of the shops on Taobao that sells the virtual girlfriend service.

The RMB 20 package means the client can chat with a girlfriend for at least 100 messages or speak with her over the phone. In the second stage, the girlfriend will send the client a photo of herself and express feelings to help give the man the illusion “he is crazily in love with the girl”, said the shop owner. However, the newspaper said the final stage service is relatively new, and nobody has purchased it yet. That’s okay though, because the third stage is the most boring in real life, too.

Once the service is completed, the girlfriend is requested to cut off contacts with clients, deleting him from her WeChat account and not to not have revealed her real name or address in order to protect privacy, the shop owner said.

To serve China’s large pool of singles, Taobao has already launched girlfriend rental services for Valentine’s Day and Spring Festival. The new virtual girlfriend service is expected to gain a huge following with a generation of people who have no time and energy for real relationships.

Photos: Warners Bros, Taobao, MIT Technology Review

Haohao
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Online Backlash After Henan High School Expels Students Caught Holding Hands

Posted: 08/25/2014 8:00 am

When it comes to tough disciplinary rules, one high school in China’s central Henan Province isn’t leaving anything to chance.

Taking its cue from Xi Jinping’s eight-point guide for official conduct, Yanshi High School in Luoyang implemented a similar eight-point guideline for student behaviour ahead of the new semester in September. One point in particular vows to expel a student if he or she is caught holding the hand of a student of the opposite sex, China National Radio reported on August 24.

A first-time offender would be suspended; but, if caught for a second time, the student would be expelled from school, the report said. Dating is often strictly banned in Chinese schools because it’s believed to be destructive to a student’s grades by both parents and teachers alike, especially when the high school students are vying for the highly competitive national college entrance examination.

The school’s attempt to nip puppy love in the bud, however, immediately drew the ire of netizens, given the increased tolerance of young love. Some Internet users voiced worries of counter effects of this hardline strike. Niubaobao321 commented, “In fact, if you suppress it more, it will bounce back higher! Rather than banning dating, (you should) teach students how to correctly handle relationships with the opposite sex.”

Weibo user Yashmine0513 wrote, “Morbid. As a school, you can’t even teach teenagers about natural relationships between men and women. How do you call yourself a school? How do you expect to improve students’ efficiency?”

Several users revealed their own experience of schools taking a hardline towards male and female relationships. User WithJessie said, “This is nothing. Our school bans two opposite sex students just walking together, or hanging around on the playground. Forget about holding hands. If a teacher sees a male student and female student together, he will immediately summon your parents.”

Other rules introduced by the school also ban fighting, using cellphones, sneaking out to use the Internet, drinking, smoking, cheating or having parties.

Photos: China National Radio; dadazim

 

Haohao
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Man shows up at girlfriend’s graduation ceremony in Shenzhen to propose to her

Posted: 07/2/2013 7:00 am

Overwhelmed with emotion

It’s official, romance is not dead. This year’s graduates may be entering the toughest job market in the country’s history but it’s not all doom and gloom out there.

A student at Shenzhen University got the surprise of her life during her graduation ceremony at the weekend when her boyfriend showed up and proposed to her. The photos were put on Sina Weibo by a user named SB71 and were forwarded by several of the city’s major microblogs.

Photos show the man arriving at the ceremony all suited and booted before ceremoniously proposing to her in one of the most public ways possible. Bystanders can be seen applauding and taking photographs.

He’s given himself a lot to live up to

After posting some harrowing stories over the weekend, The Nanfang is glad to bring you some good news for a change.
And as Heath Ledger showed us in “10 Things I Hate About You,” you’ve gotta be prepared to make an ass of yourself for the special person in your life:

Haohao
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“Mistress Festival” doesn’t go as planned; still yearn for respect

Posted: 03/5/2011 6:00 am

Mistresses in China (and there are many) are rising up: they are severing the shackles of disrespect and boldly yearning for acceptance. But it isn’t going so well.

Proud mistresses in China set up a so-called “Mistress Festival” online on March 3 to air their grievances and celebrate their profession. The date (3/3) is auspicious, because “Little Three” (小三) is often a nickname given to mistresses, given that they are the third party in the relationship. But when there’s an online gathering, you have to expect those who oppose your agenda might appear, such as, say, a wronged wife. And that’s what happened:

Things got off to a bad start when, in her introduction, an invited wife proclaimed her loyalty to her husband.

She was assailed by mistresses mocking her “loyalty” and teasing her by saying they would seduce her husband.

Other participants came to the defense of the beleaguered wife, criticizing the aggressive behavior of the mistresses.

As levels of abuse escalated and chaos reigned, the moderator was forced to warn participants to behave.

This is a hot topic in China, as mistresses seem to be as common as yangrou chuanr stands. The PRD, in particular, is a famous haven for mistresses in relationships with men from nearby Hong Kong and Taiwan. Unlike in the west, however, there appears to be less stigma for mistresses in China; they are almost accepted as an accessory if a man becomes successful enough to have earned one. Even wives will often look the other way, knowing their husbands are just “having fun” and wouldn’t leave the marriage.

So do mistresses deserve respect? There are very few professions that are as shameless; mistresses basically sell their good looks for a pseudo-relationship with a married man, which is only one degree removed from another famous profession. But from their perspective, they are just cashing in: if a man wants to pay a monthly salary, by Gucci handbags and set her up in a good apartment, why shouldn’t she accept? Beats working 9-5 in an office, right?

If you want to check out the website for the mistress festival, you can find it here in Chinese only.

Haohao
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