THREE men and three women in formal wear meet at a Shanghai restaurant on a Saturday night in January. The lighting is romantic. The background music sentimental. And the meeting is confidential. This is not, however, a meeting of friends. They’re all strangers.
There is no host. An anonymous person tells them what their next moves are via text messages on their handsets.
This gives new meaning to the term "blind date". These people have never met before and, perhaps, may never meet again, but they’re into the latest toy of urban singles. It could be a new project for your Valentine’s Day.
After all, Jin Xiaoming, the head of 51friend.net, a Shanghai-based online dating company, says, "It’s a good thing. It shows how net-obsessed young people are pulling back from virtual space and seeking romance in reality."Participants are young professionals. About 50,000 have registered so far.
The dinner for six is one type of party. The six are chosen for compatibility of their interests, incomes, and careers. From then on, everything is "blind": the party-goers don’t know who, where or how to meet until the organizer reveals things. The organizer is either a dating agency or a media company.
The cost differs from city to city but is usually from one hundred to several hundred yuan.
There is no set formula for it. Sometimes it’s a dinner, perhaps a meeting, or a public gathering.
For example, at the end of last year, the White Collar Coffee Festival in Dongshanhu Park in Guangzhou had about 7,000 people looking for love over the course of two days.
Some of the dating had results though no specific data were taken according to the organizers. While most search for love, some say they just want to meet new people.
"Far from being loners confined to their bedrooms, urban singles appear outgoing and hugely curious about one another,"says Xiao Fei, 28, a freelance photographer, who has attended several stranger dinners in Beijing.
Heavy work stress makes urban people strangers to traditional kinship networks, such as those with colleagues and hometown friends, so young people turn to the unpredictable, Xiao explains.
Some experts are suggesting that party-goers need to keep their wits about them since some people are going to as many as three or four parties a week.
"They meet large numbers of strangers to satisfy their curiosity. But that obsession lasts for only a short period and it can destroy one’s sense of marriage,"says Qin Jian, a psychologist from Chongqing.
Last year, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences did a survey of Chinese marriages and found that more than 80 per cent of couples got married after less than two years of dating. Even more startling, 23 per cent got married after less than six months. That may be part of the reason that 1.2 million couples split up each year.
"Like many of the fashionable lifestyles promoted by the media, this is just another line of commercially prepackaged products,"says Qin. "What young people really need is something that can hold their interest for a long time."
New ways of finding a mate
STRANGERS parties go wild these days. The main idea of them is to never let the people know who their matches are until the last minute. These are some popular practices that are storming the world’s youth on this V-day.
Speed dating
It’s exactly what the name implies. Complete with a timer, a whistle and 50 willing singles, speed dating is not the traditional dinner and a movie type of first date. Singles pay US$35 for three minutes with more than two dozen prospective dates. They ask questions and try to get to know each other. At the sound of a whistle, they do the same thing all over again ? 25 times in all. Consider it bulk dating.
Lock and key party
Women are given a lock and men are given a key, upon arriving at the party. Each key and lock have several matches. One can hunt for his/her potential sweetheart in various groups, and try out the key or lock. Each time a lock and key match the pair are entered into a ballot for top prizes!
Dinner in the dark
Waiters wearing night vision goggles guide the guests through the pitch-black dining room. They are seated at the table and familiarized with the wine glass and plate. Food is handled with the fingers. People will not see the food they are eating or the guests at their table until the dessert course. At that moment, dining partners will be revealed.
Message party
Have A Cocktail, Leave A Message! When you arrive, you get a tag with a number and a pad of post-it notes. If you see someone you like, write a message on the message board. But wait... You’ve got a message... Go and collect it! You can make new friends and win lots of gifts. The more messages you leave on the bulletin board, the more chances you have of winning prizes.
There is no host. An anonymous person tells them what their next moves are via text messages on their handsets.
This gives new meaning to the term "blind date". These people have never met before and, perhaps, may never meet again, but they’re into the latest toy of urban singles. It could be a new project for your Valentine’s Day.
After all, Jin Xiaoming, the head of 51friend.net, a Shanghai-based online dating company, says, "It’s a good thing. It shows how net-obsessed young people are pulling back from virtual space and seeking romance in reality."Participants are young professionals. About 50,000 have registered so far.
The dinner for six is one type of party. The six are chosen for compatibility of their interests, incomes, and careers. From then on, everything is "blind": the party-goers don’t know who, where or how to meet until the organizer reveals things. The organizer is either a dating agency or a media company.
The cost differs from city to city but is usually from one hundred to several hundred yuan.
There is no set formula for it. Sometimes it’s a dinner, perhaps a meeting, or a public gathering.
For example, at the end of last year, the White Collar Coffee Festival in Dongshanhu Park in Guangzhou had about 7,000 people looking for love over the course of two days.
Some of the dating had results though no specific data were taken according to the organizers. While most search for love, some say they just want to meet new people.
"Far from being loners confined to their bedrooms, urban singles appear outgoing and hugely curious about one another,"says Xiao Fei, 28, a freelance photographer, who has attended several stranger dinners in Beijing.
Heavy work stress makes urban people strangers to traditional kinship networks, such as those with colleagues and hometown friends, so young people turn to the unpredictable, Xiao explains.
Some experts are suggesting that party-goers need to keep their wits about them since some people are going to as many as three or four parties a week.
"They meet large numbers of strangers to satisfy their curiosity. But that obsession lasts for only a short period and it can destroy one’s sense of marriage,"says Qin Jian, a psychologist from Chongqing.
Last year, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences did a survey of Chinese marriages and found that more than 80 per cent of couples got married after less than two years of dating. Even more startling, 23 per cent got married after less than six months. That may be part of the reason that 1.2 million couples split up each year.
"Like many of the fashionable lifestyles promoted by the media, this is just another line of commercially prepackaged products,"says Qin. "What young people really need is something that can hold their interest for a long time."
New ways of finding a mate
STRANGERS parties go wild these days. The main idea of them is to never let the people know who their matches are until the last minute. These are some popular practices that are storming the world’s youth on this V-day.
Speed dating
It’s exactly what the name implies. Complete with a timer, a whistle and 50 willing singles, speed dating is not the traditional dinner and a movie type of first date. Singles pay US$35 for three minutes with more than two dozen prospective dates. They ask questions and try to get to know each other. At the sound of a whistle, they do the same thing all over again ? 25 times in all. Consider it bulk dating.
Lock and key party
Women are given a lock and men are given a key, upon arriving at the party. Each key and lock have several matches. One can hunt for his/her potential sweetheart in various groups, and try out the key or lock. Each time a lock and key match the pair are entered into a ballot for top prizes!
Dinner in the dark
Waiters wearing night vision goggles guide the guests through the pitch-black dining room. They are seated at the table and familiarized with the wine glass and plate. Food is handled with the fingers. People will not see the food they are eating or the guests at their table until the dessert course. At that moment, dining partners will be revealed.
Message party
Have A Cocktail, Leave A Message! When you arrive, you get a tag with a number and a pad of post-it notes. If you see someone you like, write a message on the message board. But wait... You’ve got a message... Go and collect it! You can make new friends and win lots of gifts. The more messages you leave on the bulletin board, the more chances you have of winning prizes.
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