Xiaodan, a make-up artist in Sichuan province, southwestern China, said that the fee has leapt to nearly 200 yuan (US$28) a consultation, up from 60 yuan at other times of the year.

She said the service has become popular in rural areas as well as cities, including in her hometown in southeastern Jiangxi province, where elders arrange more than one blind date a day for single males in the family.

“Who does not want to make a great first impression? Nowadays more men enjoy wearing make-up,” Xiaodan said.

“My blind date male make-up appointments are fully booked during the week-long Lunar New Year holidays. I will see at least two clients every day.”

Another make-up artist, Coco, from Guangdong province, also in southeastern China, has a busy schedule.

In the last month she has had 36 male clients and her February diary is full.

Coco says men tend to focus on their complexion and eyebrows while some want their hair restyled.

She said many have told her they have failed to attract women on blind dates, so they turned to her to improve their appearance in the hope it would help.

“Wearing make-up can boost their confidence,” Coco said.

She told of one client, a 31-year-old surnamed Wang, who was introduced to her by a friend because he was no good at choosing clothes and hair styles. He was very satisfied with his haircut that cost 168 yuan (US$24).

The trend has divided opinion on mainland social media.

“I think it’s good. It shows men are starting to respect their dates,” one online observer said.

“Will they wear make-up later when they have a second or more dates?” another asked.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that there were 240 million single people in China in 2018, and the number of single men aged between 20 and 49 was far greater than single women in the same age group.

According to the China Statistics Yearbook 2022, the number of people getting married dropped to 6.83 million in 2022, about 803,000 down from 2021.