A girlfriend-for-hire shared her experience that highlights the hardships Chinese bachelors face in upholding marriage traditions.
Avid blogger Zhao Yuqing was always fascinated with websites that hire instant partner services.
Zhao’s interest in such websites grew to a point where she decided to become a girlfriend-for-hire herself. According to Reuters, the Chinese blogger received a whopping 700 candidates hoping to avail her service.
Chinese blogger Zhao Yuqing was intrigued by date-for-hire apps and websites – so she made an ad herself: https://t.co/EYdJX44C0V pic.twitter.com/qfzKr5XiND
— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) July 19, 2017
Out of over a hundred choices, Zhao opted for a website operator from the rural south named Wang Quanming. While one might assume that Zhao is merely doing this for money, she explains that she’s more interested in the experience.
In fact, Zhao is only going to charge Wang for transportation and not for her girlfriend-for-hire services. The female blogger explains that she chose Wang since his need for a girlfriend is “real.”
From a pool of 700 responses, she chose Wang Quanming, a website operator in his early thirties from the rural south https://t.co/hLiwLR1olj pic.twitter.com/My3H3YZLb4
— Reuters Pictures (@reuterspictures) July 19, 2017
“He is being pressured to find a wife,” Zhao added. In rural China, traditional marriage practices are of “greater urgency.” With that said, bachelors from this region face even greater pressure from their parents in finding a suitable mate.
The fake girlfriend eventually convinced Wang’s mother, Xiurong, about the legitimacy of their relationship. While things went smoothly in Wang’s favor, the bachelor decided to diffuse the situation himself.
Quanming’s mother tried to make her feel at home and respected her son’s request to leave the two alone https://t.co/hLiwLR1olj pic.twitter.com/axYOMdyvu2
— Reuters Pictures (@reuterspictures) July 19, 2017
Wang eventually told his mother the truth by showing her the blog of his fake girlfriend. Xiurong admitted that she had no idea the relationship was fabricated but she wasn’t upset with her son’s efforts.
As for the fake girlfriend, Zhao revealed through her blog that she had quite a “wonderful experience.” However, despite Zhao’s efforts, Wang’s situation still persists and his mother is still worried about him not getting married.
Quanming said the experience had not eased his mother’s desire for him to find a marriage partner https://t.co/hLiwLR1olj pic.twitter.com/DjNfeAs5sg
— Reuters Pictures (@reuterspictures) July 19, 2017
This just goes to show that traditional marriage dilemmas for bachelors in rural China is still a real issue. It’s no wonder that girlfriend-for-hire services cost as high as 10,000 yuan ($1,478) a day.
Feature Image Photo via Flickr/Kanegen (CC BY 2.0)
