Lunar New Year spike in price of China’s fake boyfriends and girlfriends, hired by singles to save face over the holidays
The growing practice of single city dwellers hiring pretend romantic partners to take home to families eager to see them paired off has seen prices triple to as much as 6,000 yuan a night
The run-up to this year’s Lunar New Year holiday in China has seen a surge in demand for rented girlfriends or boyfriends, as single millennials look to pass themselves off to their families as being in a relationship when they go home for the annual celebrations.
In China, where producing offspring is seen as an important filial obligation, pressure to get married and give birth can be overwhelming, so much so that people seek this temporary – and pricey – solution to appeasing their parents and other relatives.
The cost of renting a pretend partner typically ranges from 500 yuan to 2,000 yuan a night, plus expenses. However, prices have soared ahead of the Spring Festival holiday, during which young urban dwellers return home for family reunions. One desperate bachelor is offering to pay up to 6,000 yuan on Chinese social media platform Baidu to a woman who’ll have a meal and spend a night with his family.
On one Chinese website dedicated to boyfriend and girlfriend rental, most of the customers are bachelors looking for a decent, polished woman to play their girlfriend. Many customers, and fake partners for hire, specify that they only require or provide “green” services – meaning no sexual services are involved, not even kissing.
“I am renting out my time only, not my body,” says a 27-year-old woman from Shenzhen on the website.
