What It's Like To Rent A Boyfriend In China
Melanie Lee
Melanie Lee
On Taobao, China's biggest online marketplace, women can choose from hundreds of temporary companions and reserve them for hours or days at a time at a time by paying a deposit.
Melanie Lee, a news blogger for Alibaba - which owns Taobao - recently decided to give the service a try, and she shared her experience via email with Business Insider.
After scanning her options online, Lee said she paid 1,500 yuan ($264) for her day-long date. During the outing, her hired boyfriend told her all about his odd clients - who have apparently included "gangsters" looking for someone "harmless" to entertain their mistresses.
His price, "which is more than the average monthly income for a Chinese family, would buy his undivided attention for a day," she said. "Kissing, hand-holding, another dodgy physical contact not included."
They decided to meet at the Hangzhou East Railway Station, and Lee said she initially feared he might be a serial killer.
Here's a photo of the first meeting. Lee has covered his face to protect his privacy:
Melanie Lee
Lee had arranged for a daylong tour of the city of Hangzhou. Inside a taxi, "we sat as far apart as possible as I hadn't quite let go of the serial-killer thought," she said.
Here they are in the car:
Melanie Lee
"My date (we'll call him Zhang) is nearly 30," she said. "He tells me he is usually hired by older single women to ward off the merciless harangues of family. Sometimes, he stands in for actual boyfriends, married guys or gangsters in need of someone harmless to look after their mistresses in their absence."
Zhang said he's usually briefed by clients a few days before a date on what kind of companion he should be.
"He could be a rich businessman from a coal mining town or a food delivery boy from Shanghai," Lee said. "Either way, Zhang said the most important thing was to make the character believable."
Here they are on a boat tour:
Melanie Lee
Melanie Lee
"He told me he entered China's lifestyle services industry because the job pays the bills, requires little skill and allows him to travel on someone else's dime - an explanation little different from that of the average drug mule."
After the boat ride, Zhang displayed some brief intimacy but putting his arm around Lee for this photo:
Melanie Lee
There, he explained some of the disadvantages of being a bachelor in a country with a predominantly male population.
"Men are expected to have a lot of money before they start the search for a wife and women face a lot of pressure to get married young," Zhang said, according to Lee. "If you are like me, nearly 30 with not a lot of money, your chances to marry soon are low."
"I began to wonder if he was expecting a big tip," remarked Lee.
Melanie Lee
But he eventually opened up about his dating history over an ice cream chocolate fondue, Lee said.
Melanie Lee
Shortly thereafter, the date ended on Heng Feng Street in Hangzhou.
Melanie Lee
Here they are parting ways:
Melanie Lee
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