The rise of China’s sugar daddies and a ‘broker for gold diggers’

A large number of affluent men in China want to be “sugar daddies”, keeping younger women as mistresses or girlfriends, according to a matchmaking website.

SeekingArrangement.com, a site that specialises in hooking up wealthier men and women with younger partners, said about 100,000 men on the mainland had joined its service in recent months.

The US-based website launched its Chinese version in September last year and said membership had increased rapidly. About a quarter of the men are married.

Media in China have dubbed the site a “broker for gold diggers” and it has created controversy on the mainland since its launch.

Some media suggested it would encourage young women to follow the example of the internet celebrity Guo Meimei, a 23-year-old who enjoyed publicly flaunting her luxury lifestyle which was later revealed to have been funded by a married businessman from Shenzhen.

The Chinese matchmaking service says on its website its members are “successful”, “charming”, financially stable men with a mature character who will “share life experiences with you and take you shopping, for expensive dinners and overseas sightseeing”.