Dating, Flash Marriages, Love Confessions: A Look into the Minds of Chinese Singles

Dating, Flash Marriages, Love Confessions: A Look into the Minds of Chinese Singles
Nov 11, 2015 By eChinacities.com

Editor's Note: One is the loneliest that you'll ever do. Unless you are in China, then 11/11 is four times lonelier. As we read reports on Alibaba smashing online shopping records on this year's Singles Day, we are forgetting what this day really represents: the proud single ladies and men who laugh in the face of the hand-holders and the couples giggling at their inside jokes in the corner of KFC. Table for one, please! The translated article reports on the results of a survey about dating in China.

Singles’ Day is really mostly about shopping, but it is also about celebrating (or not celebrating) being single. In honor of Singles’ Day, The Paper conducted a survey on single men and women in different regions of China.

Who Chases Who?
Many single men in China actually don’t mind being chased by women. 56 percent of men think that it is easier when the woman chases the man. 26 percent of women also agree that it is easier when women chase men. The majority of women, however, feel that it is easier when men pursue women. 

Northern and Southern single men actually differ on opinion on whether women should pursue men. Northern men generally do not want women to pursue them. Men from Heilongjiang, Hebei and Shandong were mostly against the idea. Southern men, on the other hand, said they enjoyed being pursued by women, especially men from Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Shanghai.

I Just Texted to Say I Love You
Telling someone you’re interested is easier said than done. The majority of single men and women said that usually men are the ones to make the first move. 80 percent of women said that, “if you love a person, you should have the courage to speak out,” but only 14 percent said they would actually be brave enough to take the initiative. 93.1 percent of men said that one should have the courage to speak out when in love, and 72.3 percent said that they would take the initiative to do so.

Shanghai men are the most passive in taking the initiative to pursue someone they liked, and women from Guangzhou are the most active. Only 60 percent of men from Shanghai said that they would take the initiative to pursue someone that they liked. In Guangzhou, nearly 30 percent of women would take the initiative, which is much higher than the national average.

What’s the best way to confess your love to someone: a text passage or in person? 61 percent of single men prefer a face to face conversation, while women are spilt between the two. Men said that face to face conversations are the best, messaging is the second best, and writing letters is third. 44 percent of women preferred messaging while 43 percent said they would rather have a face to face conversation. Single men and women both do not like public confessions of love. Sichuan men have the strongest preference for face to face conversations, while Guangxi women would rather declare their love through messaging.

Mixed Feelings about Flash Marriages
“Flash marriages,” or marriages between partners who have known each other for less than a few months, have become more and more popular in China. What do single men and women think about flash marriages?

Only 12 percent of men and 6 percent of women think that flash marriages are reasonable. 43 percent of men said that flash marriages are acceptable under certain situations. 53 percent of women and 38 percent of men said that flash marriages are absolutely unacceptable.

The attitude toward flash marriages is different all around the country. Guangzhou men are most open towards flash marriages, and Beijing women are the most resistant.

Source: The Paper

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Keywords: Chinese dating survey Singles Day survey

7 Comments

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bill8899

Flash honeymoon?

Nov 15, 2015 11:59 Report Abuse

Guest2650392

99% of flash marriages are flesh marriages.

Nov 12, 2015 15:56 Report Abuse

coineineagh

if only they were. more like 99% are cash marriages.

Nov 13, 2015 00:19 Report Abuse

Guest2650392

Both soul-less.

Nov 13, 2015 10:57 Report Abuse

silverbutton1

who chases whom.

Nov 12, 2015 13:20 Report Abuse

nzteacher80

Hopefully some of those lucky singles will find true love today and get married in the near future so they can spend the rest of their lives happily ignoring each other and playing Candy Crush Saga on their iPhones.

Nov 11, 2015 22:54 Report Abuse

bill8899

Maybe, but Candy Crush is fun! Try it.

Nov 15, 2015 11:54 Report Abuse