Chinese singles are looking for love in video chats – with thousands in real time, thousands follow

Steve Chen had never been in love. However, it happened in the last spring. The 25-year-old met his first girlfriend in a way he could not have imagined before: a live streaming video chat.

Chen frustrated with traditional dating and the use of the apps, jumped up a new trend among young people in China. Those looking for love go in video chat rooms who are hosted by a so -called “cyber matchmaker”, while thousands of spectators view and comment in real time.

According to state data, the number of individual people in China reached over 15 a record high of 240 million in 2023. In view of a falling birth rate and an aging population, the government encouraged individual people to marry and have several children. Last year, the State Council, China's cabinet, plans to ensure that the local governments build various platforms so that young people have more opportunities.

“We should actively promote a new kind of marriage and childbearing culture,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping in a speech in 2023 and encouraged people to found families.

Chen found very hard. He describes himself as a “mutai solo”, Chinese slang for single since the womb.

But these days are over.

Chen fell in love with a live -streamed video chat room.

It was organized by Tian Xin, a cyber matchmaker who has been a virtual group production on Xiaohongshu or Rednote, a Chinese social media -app -for over a year.

During the day, Tian works in a technology company. At night, she turns into a matchmaker that breaks the ice, cracks jokes, moderates conversations and sometimes offers relationship advice. Your account has over 130,000 followers.

“Empathy is the most important thing. They have to be sensitive to what people say,” Tian told the Associated Press.

At 11 p.m. on a week, over 800 spectators watched Tian's video chat room with background music of the Chinese pop songs with love motifs. Eight people were arranged in front of the camera, their faces in a network on the screen. Another dozen was waiting in a digital queue.

Tian initially asked each participant a similar series of questions: age, weight, size, job, income, location, zodiac signs, hobbies and requirements for partners.

“Do you have a talent or ability to show us?” Tian asked a candidate, a PE teacher.

The man pulled out his shirt and moved his biceps and six-pack belly muscles. Münder noticed. Some clapped.

A new comment appeared in the chat with a number of laughing emojis: “Lol. Is it so competitive these days?”

After the first questions, the participants talked about their daily life and work when they carried out their nightly routines in front of the camera. One person washed off their make-up, while another at night eat a fried chicken dinner.

As a medical student, Chen said that he has had little free time so far. “The pressure of study and work is very strong. I have no time to get in touch with people and find friends.”

Chen is not only in the feeling of feeling like this. According to a report by Iimedia Research, a Chinese data analysis agency, over 30% of young people who are single said it is due to their busy work plans. Many companies in China ask the employees to work for 12 hours a week six days a week. In response to this, there is a growing trend to “lies flat” or to work as little as possible – and decide to stay single – to resist social pressure.

For those who want to get married, the livestream videos are an appealing alternative to traditional matchmaking methods such as the marriage markets, in which families resume and arrange data for their unmarried children.

They are also another option for those who are tired of making apps.

Christine Zhang said that the live -streamed videos are more fun and more interactive than the apps.

“You can see more than just photos on profiles in livestreams. You can see how a person speaks and acts,” said Zhang.

She started regularly in Tian's Livestream, where Chen – also regularly – noticed her. He sometimes danced and sang in front of the camera.

In front of hundreds of spectators on the livestream, Zhang announced that she had a crush on him. Other participants, together with an audience of hundreds of followers, were impressed by their courage. The matchmaker introduced her and encouraged her to speak one to one outside of the livestream. She wrote and met personally a few months later.

Almost a year later, the two are in a serious relationship.

They both said that they were lucky enough to have hit.

“Finding love is difficult. I had to raise the courage to share my feelings in front of the camera,” said Zhang. “I think only those who are brave find love.”