Chinese Women Hire Fake Boyfriends for Spring Festival Trip Home

Chinese Women Hire Fake Boyfriends for Spring Festival Trip Home
Jan 23, 2017 By eChinacities.com

Editor’s Note: Renting a fake partner for the Spring Festival is not just for men anymore. Men who hire themselves out as “fake boyfriends” are in high demand for the holidays. This article explores the concept of rental boyfriends and the motivations behind the young women who opt for one.

The Spring Festival is a time of anxiety for many young Chinese singles. The concept of “renting a girlfriend” to appease one’s parents over the holiday has become mainstream in Chinese culture. But what about “renting a boyfriend?” Many young Chinese women are paying thousands of RMB this holiday season to bring a fake boyfriend home to meet their parents.

In order to avoid the topic of marriage, young Chinese men can rent a girlfriend to travel home with them for Chinese New Year. For two days and two nights, women will charge two or three thousand RMB. Now, men want to get in on the scheme as well.

A Market for Men

There is now a QQ group with thousands of members to advertise “rental boyfriends.” Men post advertisements offering their services for the Spring Festival. Ads will include a man’s height, weight, education, basic information, and location. Men also include the “content of their services,” such as the promise to “deal with parents and relatives.”

A rental boyfriend does not come cheap- prices for the holidays start at 1,000 RMB a day. The administrator of the QQ group said that it generally costs 600 to 1,000 RMB per day to rent a boyfriend, but prices are most expensive over Chinese New Year. The prices will hit 1,000 to 1,500 RMB per day.

“Men are in higher demand, so the price of renting a boyfriend for the Spring Festival is a little higher than for renting a girlfriend,” said the QQ group admin.

Women also need to pay for travel and other related costs of the Spring Festival trip for their rental men. These costs can include eating out, entertainment, and more.

How difficult is it to become a rental boyfriend? A Hubei man in his early 30s named Guo Yi said that he had been hired as a rental boyfriend several times. “I am good at acting,” he said.

Each situation depends on the women’s requirements. Many women want a man with a certain education level, job, and appearance. The two sides must agree on and sign an agreement, and the woman must make a deposit before the trip.

Do the man and woman sleep together at night? Guo Yi said that he stipulates in the agreement that he needs a separate room to sleep in. In rental boyfriend terms, he is a “green rental.” However, he said that this is never usually a problem because the woman’s parents always arrange a separate room for him to sleep in anyways.

Guo Yi recently passed his bar examination and now works at a law firm. However, his income is not very high and he likes to earn extra money during the Spring Festival holiday.

Many men advertise themselves as “green rentals.” A young man in his 20s from Fujian is no exception. He said that he had sign a new agreement with a woman last month and they had agreed to sleep in two separate rooms.

He has gotten a lot more requests for work over the Spring Festival. “I am a little short on money, and I do not want to go home. I also do not have a girlfriend and I don’t want my parents to remind me when I go home. Therefore, I hope I can rent myself out during the Spring Festival and be able to travel.”

Avoiding the Marriage Question

Do young Chinese only rent boyfriends and girlfriends to avoid pressure from their parents? Every Chinese New Year many young Chinese men and women are pressured by their parents to find a husband or wife. Netizens agreed that these young people may appreciate the sentiment from their families, but have their own reasons for staying single. It is often difficult to find the one, especially under immense pressure.

“It is precisely because of this that young Chinese should have more frank communication with their families, instead of deceiving them to avoid negativity. Renting a girlfriend or boyfriend is a type of deception, and will only bring happiness in the moment. It is not a permanent solution,” commented a Netizen.

Zhou Xiaoping, a consultant at one of China’s top dating agencies, Baihe.com, said that young people rent boyfriends and girlfriends in order to escape facing their issues with love and marriage. In essence, the renting a partner is a form of emotional evasion.

Is it Legal?

Are there any legal risks in renting a boyfriend or girlfriend? Beijing Municipal Lawyers Association deputy secretary general Li Hongzhao said that the law does not explicitly prohibit the rental of fake boyfriends or girlfriends. The two sides should draw up a contract that deals with payment, privacy, and other expectations.

“However, there is a certain risk, and there may be violations of the law,” said Li Hongzhao. He said that the boundaries of intimacy are often difficult to define in such an arrangement. This can often lead to sexual assault, rape, or other crimes. Fake partner services are also sometimes used to cover up prostitution and other illegal acts.

Source: IFeng

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Keywords: China fake boyfriend China rental boyfriend

7 Comments

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tanbank34

loooool, this is chinese

Feb 13, 2017 12:48 Report Abuse

sardar9222

What is QQ Group??

Jan 27, 2017 15:52 Report Abuse

victorale

i don't think is the parents pressure to get their children married, i think is about money.

Jan 23, 2017 14:45 Report Abuse

retiredinchina

all the women have to do is hire a foreigner and bring him home one time, the parents will be so upset that he is not chinese and they will never bring up a bf again the next year and many years to come. I know several ladies that have done this with great results. We want bother you ever again but please don't marry the foreigner, ok mom, if you insist. A foreign friend went home with a lady about 33 years old and the chinese mom said "you know honey being single all your life is not so bad" right in front of the foreigner who happen to be very good in mandarin. priceless moments.

Jan 23, 2017 13:08 Report Abuse

JoeW

LOL!

Feb 07, 2017 22:49 Report Abuse

Anton91

That is great idea. I can even give some discount

Mar 07, 2017 15:02 Report Abuse

ncsmiith

Man parents need to get on with the 21st century. This is resulting in the high divorce rates being seen everywhere in China nowadays

Jan 23, 2017 08:57 Report Abuse