Chinese Website That Allows Women Order For Companions

Finding a boyfriend to take home for the holidays can be stressful, particularly around New Year in China when unmarried women face an inquisition about their single status from family members.
So single Chinese women have found a novel way to prevent marriage pressure by renting fake boyfriends to put on an act for their parents.

According to Daily Mail, Taobao is China’s largest online marketplace, is the place to find a temporary boyfriend as men advertise companionship starting from 1,000 yuan (£103) to 10,000 yuan (£103,300) a day.

They also charge extra for romantic activities such as hand holding, going to the cinema together, cuddles, or joint Internet surfing.

An advert for Greater China Royal Sovereign boyfriend rental centre on Taobao offers a selection of men including American boyfriend, Canadian boyfriend and domineering boyfriend Jiangsu.

One potential boyfriend had a clear list of his prices, including 800 yuan (£82) for trips to other cities to visit family and 150 yuan (£15) an hour to act as a shopping escort.

He even said he would listen to complaints or abuse for 50 yuan (£5) per 20 minutes.

Lily Li, a 26 year old, office worker who hired a fake partner, revealed that she wanted to take a boyfriend home to avoid speculation.

‘I was not looking for some perfect guy to marry. Just someone tall – my parents like tall guys a lot – honest and not too talkative, so he doesn’t say something wrong,’ she said.

‘Bringing a ‘boyfriend’ back home simply means I get less hassle from relatives and my parents will stop worrying about my romantic life.’

The Chinese New Year, which fell on February 19 this year, sees an explosion of listings of men offering their services as pretend boyfriends, according to ForeignAffairs.com.

Once you’ve picked a ‘boyfriend’ you’d like to date, you can click on his profile and look at the services he offers.

One potential boyfriend, who uses the name Xiaojun for his profile, said: ‘Parents reminder. So you want to customize the shape of a boyfriend to take home?

You can also check reviews that a potential ‘boyfriend’ has received.

Sui Wei, 29, makes a living by renting himself out as a boyfriend to help reassure worried parents that their child is on the path to matrimony.

Once he took a big wad of cash stuffed in a traditional red wedding envelope, from the mother of his fake bride.

‘I knew she and the father were expecting us to live happily ever after, but I knew we would be together for only one day,’ he said.

According to Taobao, the online searches for the term ‘rental boyfriend’ rose by 884 per cent between 2012 and 2013.