Secret celebrity romances are usually things that are uncovered by unscrupulous paparazzi photographers, violating the privacy of the rich and famous. However, the reveal of China’s hottest celebrity romance comes straight from the source itself – which, in this day and age, is a personal Weibo account.

Weibo users were first clued in to the romance between 50 year-old Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson and 31 year-old Chinese-Canadian singer Qu Wanting at beginning of January, but they made it official with a post sent by Robertson on Valentine’s Day:

Once again, this isn’t a private message, but a post sent to all of Robertson’s followers. While it may be a strange way to make it official, it makes sense for Robertson to announce his relationship to Qu on the Weibo micro-blogging service because he’s been mentioning Qu on his Weibo account for years.

The two were photographed together after a performance in February 2014, and another post has Robertson in full support of Qu becoming the tourism ambassador for Vancouver in November 2013 when he explained “Because SHE ROCKS!!!”

Robertson is having quite a year so far. He separated from his wife of 30 years last July, won himself a third term as the mayor of Vancouver, Canada back in November, and now has a new love in his life.

His public announcement of his relationship with Qu has resulted in a flurry of responses online. The most common is that he looks far younger than his 50 years:

佳爺万万岁：

There doesn’t seem to be an age difference of 19 years between [Robertson and Qu]… maintaining your health is very important.

STRONGKBB:

This old geezer is 50?!?! What a shock！

Sashaxu：

He doesn’t seem like he’s 50 years-old.

tearfulrobby：

Well maintained!

The coming together of East and West can have many implications, but the apparent one for netizens when it comes to cross-cultural relationships is the difference of beauty standards:

freshairr：

Her (meal)ticket doesn’t seem at all to be 50 years old, while she seems to be at least 40, oh my garters.

gemma凖：

Indeed, (her) face is suitable for a laowai (implying that Qu is not beautiful by Chinese standards).

Zippo227：

Foreigners like ugly women.

小婷婷luck：

Qu Wanting is (more) suitable for a foreigner because which Chinese would be able to put up with her?

尔本o：

Westerners aren’t willing to directly face the Chinese beauty standard.

A happy couple in love turns out to be the appropriate time to criticize their appearance.

罗滴嘎嘎：

Canadians are the most disgusting people. (I) pity that beautiful woman.

樱桃子2013：

At first I thought the woman had the worst end of the deal. The man is already 50 years old and is so much older than her. But then, after opening the photo, I felt that the man had the worst end of the deal…

But then some people were all too happy to wish the couple well:

男精零101：

I’m envious. 

徐威gg：

The very much have the appearance of a husband and wife.

Some netizens have come to certain conclusions about Vancouver and China’s northeast:

FrancisMartinCA：

After this, there will be more Chinese people going to Vancouver.

孫雪甛：

Speechless! 30 years of marriage is being substituted by a 31 year-old woman! I am fully in awe of China’s Dongbei (northeast)

While others see this relationship as having certain political overtones to it:

梦境_先知：

How are US mayors in any way more powerful than Chinese mayors, or any richer? That’s crazy!

肥皂是赵智君：

Why do I get the feeling that this is just propaganda material, and the mayor is just a fan?

jiatian琪：

Is this one technique with which China can conquer the world?

We’ll just have to see what comes next on Robertson’s Weibo account.

The post Vancouver Mayor Reveals Chinese Girlfriend on Weibo to Frenzied Response appeared first on The Nanfang.

Whether you’re unschooled on the matter or have the dating chops in China to know the difference, Chinese women come in two distinct varieties, Northern and Southern, as distinguished by the dividing line of the Yangtze River.

Here to help us differentiate the experience is comedy troupe MAMAHUHU with this video:

To generalize: Northern women are aggressive and brave and act masculine. On the other hand, Southern women are shy, timid and affectionate and need to be taken care of.

Photo: Youtube screenshot

The post Watch: The Differences Between Dating a Southern and Northern Chinese Woman appeared first on The Nanfang.

Momo

Just one day before China’s popular dating app Momo, known colloquially as China’s Tinder, went public on Nasdaq, its founder Tang Yan was accused of misconduct, corruption and a questionable personal lifestyle issue by fellow Chinese tech giant NetEase, the former employer of the Momo founder. The accusations soon become a sticky online topic that made headlines across Chinese media.

In a statement issued by NetEase in the early morning of December 10, the tech giant said Tang created Momo while he was still employed at NetEase from 2003 to 2011. Tang “took advantage of his job to gain information and technology resources to create Momo,” the statement said. This violated Tang’s labour contract and was a lapse of professional work ethics, it added.

Tang Yan

But perhaps one of the most serious charges involved corruption. “As NetEase’s former chief editor, Tang Yang abused the company’s trust in him and funnelled more than one million RMB to his wife’s company called Sidu Advertising Company,” the statement reads.

The accusations went on and said Tang was arrested for 10 days by Beijing police in 2007 “for personal lifestyle issues” without giving details.

On top of this fiasco, a Hangzhou website mounted a case against Momo earlier this week, saying Tang stole the name Momo from their company, Wall Street Journal reported.

Momo has stayed silent due to US laws that restrict companies planning IPOs from releasing information to the public.  The app currently has more than 180 million registered users.

Photos: Inside; sina

The post Momo Founder Accused of Corruption, Other Ethical Lapses Before New York IPO appeared first on The Nanfang.

A woman reads single men’s profiles posted on a dating board.

Guangdong, the most populous Province in Southern China, is not only a draw for migrant workers; it also draws large numbers of single women. According to a list released by dating website, jiayuan.com., Guangdong has the second largest population of “leftover women” in China, second only to Beijing. Single women aged 27+ are generally considered to be ‘leftover women”, while men aged 30+ are considered “leftover men”.

The dating site attributed the high numbers of single women to the Cities’ work pressures, fast pace and lifestyle: about 80 percent reported that their life revolved around going to work and returning home. About 30 percent said they had no time for a relationship.

According to the report, Henan is home to the highest rate of bachelors, or “leftover men”, with 74 percent. The Yangcheng Evening News cited another report, indicating that “leftover” men and women invariably work as journalists, lawyers or public relations professionals. Journalists account for almost 20 percent of the China’s total leftover population, followed closely by lawyers at 18 percent, the report said. Among leftover men, computer techs are most likely to have a hard time finding a partner because, “they are introverted and socially awkward”.

Photos: China Daily 

The post Guangdong Has The 2nd Largest Population of “Leftover Women” in China appeared first on The Nanfang.

Since the inception of Singles’ Day in China several years ago, millions of singles throughout the country celebrate the day by trying to woo that special someone. Yet one young Guangzhou resident chose a rather unique method to express his love in the lead up to November 11: iPhones, and lots of them.

There’s been no shortage of reports detailing extravagant Singles’ Day gifts such as a new car, or giant diamonds, but one Guangzhou programmer instead opted for 99 iPhone 6s. To his credit, he organized the phones in the shape of heart before proposing to his girlfriend in front of a sizeable crowd of friends and onlookers.

The phones reportedly cost the man over RMB 500,000 (about $82,000), or roughly the equivalent of two years’ salary, Tencent News reported. Sadly, the grand gesture was lost on the woman, who rejected his proposal.

Thankfully, demand for the new iPhone remains high in China, so he shouldn’t have too much trouble reselling them as one Weibo user suggested. Others simply dismissed the guy’s move as stupid. One user, 韵母和韵父, asked “How many kidneys did it take to buy those phones?” referring to earlier reports of a young man selling his own kidney to buy an iPhone. Another user wrote, ” 99 kidneys!”

For those who might be wondering how November 11th was chosen as Singles’ Day, the answer resides in the four lonely “1”s that form the date: 11/11.

 Photos: Weibo 

The post Even 99 iPhones Not Enough to Win One Woman’s Heart appeared first on The Nanfang.

Taking its cue from Xi Jinping’s eight-point guide for official conduct, Yanshi High School in Luoyang implemented a similar eight-point guideline for student behaviour ahead of the new semester in September. One point in particular vows to expel a student if he or she is caught holding the hand of a student of the opposite sex, China National Radio reported on August 24.

A first-time offender would be suspended; but, if caught for a second time, the student would be expelled from school, the report said. Dating is often strictly banned in Chinese schools because it’s believed to be destructive to a student’s grades by both parents and teachers alike, especially when the high school students are vying for the highly competitive national college entrance examination.

The school’s attempt to nip puppy love in the bud, however, immediately drew the ire of netizens, given the increased tolerance of young love. Some Internet users voiced worries of counter effects of this hardline strike. Niubaobao321 commented, “In fact, if you suppress it more, it will bounce back higher! Rather than banning dating, (you should) teach students how to correctly handle relationships with the opposite sex.”

Weibo user Yashmine0513 wrote, “Morbid. As a school, you can’t even teach teenagers about natural relationships between men and women. How do you call yourself a school? How do you expect to improve students’ efficiency?”

Several users revealed their own experience of schools taking a hardline towards male and female relationships. User WithJessie said, “This is nothing. Our school bans two opposite sex students just walking together, or hanging around on the playground. Forget about holding hands. If a teacher sees a male student and female student together, he will immediately summon your parents.”

Other rules introduced by the school also ban fighting, using cellphones, sneaking out to use the Internet, drinking, smoking, cheating or having parties.

Photos: China National Radio; dadazim

The post Online Backlash After Henan High School Expels Students Caught Holding Hands appeared first on The Nanfang.

Back on June 9, user “I am a Senior Snack Food” made a post on the Tianya forums titled: “Right now on the streets of Shanghai, it is very clear that the women are one class higher than the men.” He published the pictures seen here, and asserted that:

Women are more beautiful, while you can tell the men are losers at one glance.

and

The men are all dogs that are either unattractive mongrels or whipped puppies with their tails between their legs: there isn’t one among them that gives you any confidence. On the other hand, women have bettered themselves over and over.

Over 800,000 hits later, this topic of conversation has crossed over to Weibo. Chinese netizens continue to debate the very important question of our time: “Are Chinese men suitable for Chinese women?”

Passionate discourse about this leading social issue includes sentiments like these (from the original post):

瞎了我的鱼眼:
The reason is clear: some women are carrying brand name handbags, while some men are helping (them) carry clothes and purses.

芷KISS贤:
The woman is so beautiful, but the man is clearly a loser.

一张说人话的嘴:
How are you aware of these men’s hidden talents and capabilities?

澈堇:
I’ve long since discovered this to be true. It’s the same in Wuxi as well.

Yimobaby: (referring to the above image)
Shanghai girls have always been pretty.

lebao2030: (responding to above)
People, this is called “make-up”! This isn’t natural beauty; if you don’t believe me, ask them to try going without wearing make-up! Shanghai women need to put on make-up before going outside! I’ve lived in Shanghai for five years during which I’ve had Shanghainese friends.

辣妹子啦啦啦:
This is pretty much true. I had previously gone to South Korea and had posted pictures of Korean pedestrians. Everyone theorized that they are all made-up. Women of Chinese first and second-tiered major cities have already attained the same level of fashion as that of Seoul, however, there is a huge, significant difference with the men. If Chinese men won’t pay any attention to improving their looks, then forget it; many of them aren’t even capable of maintain basic hygiene.

But while netizens argue, the Guangzhou Daily has tackled the question by conducting a survey. The paper asked 1,259 people (487 men and 772 women) this question: do you agree or disagree with the statement “Chinese men don’t look as good as Chinese women”? It turns out 56% of women agree while 68% of men disagree.

The survey also asked how much a man should spend on making himself “look better”. Again, the difference between the sexes is stark. Almost 87% of male respondents said zero to 20% of their income should be allocated to looking better, while only 43% of women suggested such a small amount should be spent. Thirty-seven percent of women said men should be spending 20 to 40% of their entire income on looking better.

With such a vast difference of opinion between Chinese men and women, we’re not sure how the two sexes can reach a consensus and get married.

Here’s some more pictures of couples below. What do you think?

Photos: Tianya, Guangzhou Daily

The post “Are Chinese Men Suitable For Chinese Women?” appeared first on The Nanfang.

If you missed it, yesterday was “I Love You” Day, so-called because the Chinese pronunciation of the date 5/20 (wú èr líng) can be loosely re-interpreted as the phase “I love you” (我爱你, wǒ ài nǐ).

The populist trend of this fad stems from online communities, as have other random dates that sound similar to romantic phrases. They include: 2013/1/4 (“Love you for the rest of my life, now and forever”), 1/3/14 (“For now and for always”), and 11/11 (Singles’ Day). These dates have seen hordes of lovebirds flocking to marriage licensing centers to get hitched at the right place and at the right timedate.

493 couples tied the knot yesterday in Nanshan District, while the number of married couples in Futian District was reported at a prophetic 520, reports NewsGD.

The number of marriage license applicants numbered eight times more than those on average non-“I Love You” days at the Nanshan marriage licensing center. Extra security guards were called in to help keep order from rambunctious lovers who presumably didn’t want to wait until the non-symbolic day of May 21, otherwise known as the summer solstice.

However, that wasn’t the biggest public display of love in Shenzhen on “I Love You” Day. The message “Jia loves Qiong; our love is ordained by heaven” was written in lights yesterday on Shenzhen’s tallest building, the KK100, a lost sentiment upon every other Shenzhen resident who had to settle for rain and lightning to pour down from the sky above.

“I Love You” Day now joins the ranks of China’s other recognized days of romance: Valentines’ Day, White Day (March 14, when girls give gifts to their boyfriends in return), Qixi Festival on 7/7 of the Lunar Calendar, and Singles’ Day on November 11 (Lantern Festival can be seen as China’s “traditional Valentine’s Day”).

We’ll try to keep you apprised of any new developments should they arise.

Photos: NewsGD, Shenzhen Evening Report via Weibo

The post Hundreds of Shenzhen Couples Marry on “I Love You” Day, 5/20 appeared first on The Nanfang.

The video was shot this past weekend in Hong Kong’s notorious Lan Kwai Fong bar district, not a locale known for the virtuous. It opens with the girl sitting with her boyfriend (although the exact nature of their relationship is being debated) along a railing, and the foreigner slowly moving in. It ends with him taking her away from a clearly exasperated – and we’re quickly assuming – ex-boyfriend.

Not sure whether to berate the guy for his ineptitude and weakness or feel sorry for him, the video has stirred up all kinds of feelings in Hong Kong Golden, one of the city’s top forums.

It turns out the video was shot by a guy named David Bond, who is the other foreigner sitting along the railing. He styles himself as a professional pick-up artist and has traveled throughout Asia. Hong Wrong blog has this:

The man himself entered the debate on Reddit posting a screenshot of his ‘conquests’ folder on his PC. He also posted a sarcastic video response to those objecting to his use of supposedly ‘hidden cameras’. The incident has also spawned a blog and Facebook campaign page…

It’s almost Chinabounder, redux.

[h/t Hong Wrong]

The post Squeamish Video Shows Laowai Stealing Girl from HK Boyfriend in Lan Kwai Fong appeared first on The Nanfang.

A recent report by Baihe Net entitled “Report on Shenzhen Residents’ Relationship and Marital Status” revealed that more than 70 percent of the city’s non-local residents find it hard to find their significant other, an opinion to which 69.1 percent of locals agree, reported Yangcheng Evening News on May 12.

It does not help matters when 85.9 percent of female respondents in Shenzhen and Guangzhou said they believe that a man with a monthly salary below RMB 5,000 ($800) should not even attempt to start a relationship, a salary already 8.4 percent higher than the national average, the report said.

And once in a relationship, marriage is the only thing keeping them committed because 72.2 percent of non-local Shenzhen residents believe marriage is the goal of relationships, an opinion 64.5 percent of locals seconded.

Not surprisingly, for the large pool of lonely souls, old maids and bachelors in the city, physical needs are self-actualized. 61.6 percent of bachelors in Shenzhen said their sexual needs were “self-sufficed and handled on their own”, and 29 percent of single women also took the matters into their own hands.

And don’t forget: China is still a country where men are pressured to marry in order to prove their manhood, and women marry for financial security. The pressure is mounting for Shenzhen’s singles, and none of the parties are happy about their status as singles; parents are constantly nagging them about potential marriage problems before the slightest opportunity for marriage had even arrived.

The report said 54.4 percent of local single males worry about regional cultural and custom differences in a cross-provincial marriage, and 39.8 percent worry about the trouble of commuting between the bride’s family and groom’s family during the Spring Festival.

Perhaps the only ones who are smiling after reading about the city’s large unwed population are the advertisers and shop owners who have perhaps, already started planning this year’s Singles Day retail campaigns on November 11.

 Home page and content page images: Sohu

The post Paradise, Lost: The Lonely, Loveless City of Shenzhen appeared first on The Nanfang.