8 Apps and Websites that are Changing the Way China Does Dating

8 Apps and Websites that are Changing the Way China Does Dating
Sep 01, 2015 By Beth Green , eChinacities.com

China’s online dating scene has long belonged to two main gatekeepers: Jiayuan and Momo. To this day, Jiayuan remains the largest dating site in China by user base, but the number of active members is on the decline. Meanwhile, Momo has transformed itself from a sketchy hookup app to a more family-friendly interest-based social network.

So where are young people in China finding love these days? Here’s eight apps and websites that are changing the way China does dating.

1) Baihe (百合)

Baihe does away with the pleasantries and gets straight to business. Are you a homeowner? Do you have a degree? How much money do you make? These are some of the details members are asked to disclose to potential mates.

Posting a video of yourself is also encouraged because videos are more difficult to manipulate than photos. Users can verify their marital status to prove they aren’t seeking affairs. The site also added a feature that allows users to post their credit scores to prove they’re in good financial standing. You can only see information about others that you shared yourself.

Baihe claims to have 85 million members and is available in Chinese only.

2) Tantan (探探)

Tantan is China’s Tinder clone. Set up your profile, swipe left, swipe right - you get the idea. The app, which is available on iOS and Android, claims to have nearly 140 million “matches”, which we assume means two people mutually swiping right.

Tinder is blocked in China, but Tantan is available in both Chinese and English, so you can still get your shallow judgment fix from behind the Great Firewall.

3) 2RedBeans (两颗红豆)

Tens of millions of Chinese citizens live outside of China. For them, there’s 2RedBeans. Built specifically for the Chinese diaspora, 2RedBeans allows Chinese people living abroad to find their like-minded countrymen and countrywomen. Dating profiles are tailored for this segment, allowing you to share your immigration status and when they came to their current country.

The site last reported over 400,000 users and growing fast, mostly in the US but looking to expand to the UK and Australia. It has both English and Chinese versions.

4) Blued (淡蓝)

Blued is China’s top dating app for gay men. 15 million registered users strong, the app bears a resemblance to Grindr in the west. Currently it’s very male-dominated, but the startup hopes to reach out to China’s lesbians in the future with a separate app.

Besides just flirting and dating, Blued has evolved into a full-on gay social network. It sports a news feed similar to WeChat’s Moments or Facebook’s Wall. It’s available on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone in both English and Chinese.

5) Pengpeng (碰碰)

Pengpeng combines dating with mobile gaming. Social single and multiplayer games allow users to more easily break the ice before meeting in person. Most of the games on Pengpeng include quizzes, personality tests, horoscopes, and simple competitive games. After two people play a game together, they can begin chatting and friend each other. Group chats and a Facebook-style news feed are also available.

You can sign up using your WeChat account to get started playing games with other users in your area. Started by a former exec at Zynga, the company that made Farmville and a lot of those other addicting Facebook games, Pengpeng targets China’s “post-90s” youth.

Pengpeng is available in Chinese on iOS and Android.

6) Bilin (比邻)

Probably the strangest of this list, Bilin is a flirting app that lets you make voice calls to other singles in your area. Browse the profiles of people nearby, then send a written request to someone you fancy. If they accept, you have 24 hours to give them a call through the app (you don’t actually get their phone number). It’s a sort of cross between a phone sex hotline and Momo.

Bilin last reported 20 million registered users. It’s available in Chinese on iOS and Android.

7) Hesha (喝啥)

Hesha is a dating and social app based around wine. It looks very similar to Momo, and uses the same location-based system to find people nearby. Drinking wine is a symbol of modern sophistication in China, so the app has attracted a larger ratio of female users compared to its rivals. China is home to 130 million wine drinkers is the world’s largest consumer of red wine.

In addition to the person-finding function, the app also features a Facebook-style newsfeed and lists events like wine-tastings and other related events. It also has a barcode scanner to use on bottle labels so you can share what you’re drinking with fellow users. Currently, Hesha is only available in Chinese on iOS and Android.

8) Qingchifan (请吃饭)

Another Momo lookalike, Qingchifan uses a similar model to Hesha but centers the conversation around food rather than drink. Users choose a restaurant and time, then decide how to split the bill beforehand.

Qingchifan, which literally translates to “what to eat,” uses a combination of Momo’s location-based system and a “credit score” to match users. The closer you are and the higher your credit score, the higher you’ll show up in other users’ feeds. Credits are earned by being more active, or by purchasing them outright. Launched in February 2014, the dating app reports it has 10 million registered users. 45 percent of them are female, and the average age is between 23 and 24 years old. The app is available in Chinese.

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Keywords: Chinese dating websites Chinese dating apps

4 Comments

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tekxpertt

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Apr 03, 2018 15:22 Report Abuse

blah

Wow, I only know Baihe. I registered on Baihe long time ago, but I got nothing. online dating is suspicious! people online is not reliable.

Sep 01, 2015 06:26 Report Abuse

sorrel

Try stepping out of your room, leaving your phone behind and meeting real people. I suppose it would be too much to hope that people develop social skills that don't involve a phone (or talking about shopping or computer games).

Sep 01, 2015 07:17 Report Abuse