Under pressure to marry, singles hire dates for holiday family functions
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Dates for hire are in high demand as many Chinese singles prepare to return home and see their families for the upcoming Spring Festival, which falls at the end of January this year.

By hiring a date, young Chinese singles of what is commonly considered an marriageable age in China, somewhere between the mid-20s to mid-30s, say they do not mean to enter a relationship but hope to please their families and prevent them from nagging and urging them to date someone and get married.

A matchmaking agency in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province reportedly charges bachelors 2,000 to 3,000 yuan, or about 290 to 430 US dollars, for a "girlfriend" for two days and one night, when the men can show the hired girls to their families.

Stage photo of a Chinese television drama shows a man and the girlfriend he rented. [Photo: sohu.com]

During an undercover interview, a person at the agency says any further services, including drinking with family members, are not included in the package. The person also says the clients are required not to physically touch their dates.

In addition to offline matrimonial agencies, some websites and apps in China have also been found to provide similar "services."

Screenshot shows women for hire on a website that runs partner-hire business [Photo: zunvyou.cn]

However, the practice is not protected by law in China. Clients may sign a contract with their fake partners, but some lawyers said the document is often invalid because China's contract law defines subject matters as goods or objects and people cannot be recognized as rental objects.

Meanwhile, the practice brings tremendous risks, as it is unclear who will claim responsibility if accidents happen to the hired dates while visiting families.

Additionally, many details of the clients' personal information could be revealed to the hired dates, who are in practice complete strangers.

The practice to hire dates has thrived in China mainly due to a heavy emphasis put on marriage in the traditional Chinese culture, which in many cases is considered an unavoidable and inescapable mission rather than a personal choice.

Public commentaries often label single Chinese aged 27 or above as "leftover men" or "leftover women," a subtly derogative term that suggests the unmarried are too picky or unpopular on the marriage market.

However, unlike older generations, many young people in China today no longer want to get married young or get married at all.

But social opinions have hardly changed over the years, so many parents take it as their responsibility to push their single children to marry, or at least enter a relationship, before the age of 30. This has caused huge social pressure on many young people, some of whom in response have chosen to hire dates to appease their demanding families.

Author： 　　　Source：CRI　　　 Editor：Yang Fan