Delicacies in Changsha's Foot Massage Centres

Fierce competition prompts foot massage centres to develop peripheral services. Now, they serve the best food in Changsha. 

In 2006, a novel named "Foot Capital" brought the foot massage culture of Changsha before the whole country. Originated in the northeast of China, foot massage flourished unexpectedly in Changsha. 
 
There is a joke circulating in Changsha: "If you throw a brick down in Beijing, it will hit an official; in Shanghai, it will hit a multimillionaire; in Changsha, it will likely hit two people on their way to the foot massage centre." If you need recommendations, your Changsha friends will probably ask you to hang a map of Changsha on the wall and throw a dart. No matter where you throw, the dart will most likely land on a foot massage place. 
 
The vast number of foot massage centres in Changsha also means more competition. From Thai style to Chinese style, back massage to foot massage – merchants have been fighting in these niche areas for so long that they are now moving to compete in other peripheral services. Some of the centres provide karaoke, movies, card games, tea and accommodation for the customers. Of all forms of additional services, Changsha's foot massage centres now face a fierce rivalry over their food. Each famous brand has its unique delicacy. Changsha's best food is now hidden in foot massage centres instead of those internet-famous stores by the street.  
 
This article will introduce to you six highly recommended foot massage brands in Changsha, together with their signature dishes.

 
1. The internet-famous: Golden Impression (Jinse Yinxiang) 
 
As a Chongqing enterprise that entered Changsha in 2018, Golden Impression successfully won a spot with its excellent marketing. It is being recommended everywhere on social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Dianping, and Tik Tok, which is why locals deride it as a place to hoodwink tourists. None of Golden Impression stores accept online or phone reservations. It is therefore normal to queue and wait there for more than one hour or two. However, you may order your food before your turn.
 
With over 40 food choices, beef rice noodles and steamed rice with beef are the best. The meat dumplings in spicy sauce is also a must-try. It is worth mentioning that all the delicacies there are free, and you can enjoy them at any time.  
 

Source: Dianping.com

 
2. The professional blind massage: Yeahcome
 
The owner of this local franchise is also blind. Founded in 1997, it now has its own specialized chiropractic hospital and the largest blind massage training school in central and southern China. Its selling point is markedly different from other foot massage centres.  
 
However, this professional foot massage centre provides customers with a surprisingly detailed menu, with food options ranging from desserts to mains, from tonic soups to famous local snacks. Yeahcome's braised food is more authentic than any other local restaurant in Changsha. For dinner, try their braised pork rice or potted rice. The dessert there is also highly recommended. A cup of green been slush will quench your thirst in the summer. 
 

Source: Dianping.com

Source: Dianping.com

 
3. The countrified: Sixi Fuqiao
 
Sixi Fuqiao is often jokingly ridiculed for its aesthetic. At the entrance, we see statues of Buddha's heads together with a Napoleon painting. The designer also decided to use Greek stone pillars to complement a room with Guanyin’s statue, the goddess of mercy in Chinese mythology. 

Source: Dianping.com

 
The technicians in Sixi Fuqiao immerse themselves in their work and seldom hard-sell any additional services, unlike how most foot massage centres function. 
 
When it comes to food, you will be pleasantly surprised that this traditional foot massage centre used to sell wonton as its primary business. The wontons they serve are fresh and tender, receiving many compliments from the customers.
 

Source: Dianping.com

 
4. The strictest technician assessment: Wuwei 
 
Wuwei, a brand from the Jiangxi Province, has been in Changsha for many years. To motivate the technicians, the centre has established a hierarchical technician assessment system. Newcomers must undergo a month of training up to ten hours a day and pass five exams before formally starting work. Wuwei also tests the technician's technique and understanding of human body structure from time to time. Afterwards, the centre will classify the technicians into different levels according to their performance. The lowest level technicians are known as "normal technicians", while the highest-level technicians are called "professors". This hierarchical assessment system motivates technicians to 
 
Wuwei is known for its authentic traditional Changsha snack, which has rice noodles mixed with lard. Its braised rice noodle and steamed dumplings are also worth a try.
 

Source: Dianping.com

 
5. The luxurious palace: Qianshen Guizu
 
Qianshen Guizu impresses its customers with its luxurious decors. Almost every centre is as lavish as a palace, with spacious rooms and expensive-looking furniture. Technicians here are carefully picked, and they are said to have the best salary in Changsha's foot massage industry. All female technicians are dressed in a delicate cheongsam and pleasantly interact with customers. This is an ideal place for business entertainment.  

Source: Dianping.com

 
Although limited in choices, Qianshen Guizu offers its customers delicate food as part of its quality service. According to some of its customers: "The food there is tasty, and the fruits are expensive and fresh. It is worth the price." 
 

Source: Dianping.com

 
6. The top-rated: JoinComeLife (Jiankang Daolai)
 
JoinComeLife has won praise for its friendly price and excellent service. Founded in 2008, the brand has captured the hearts of the picky Changsha residents and accumulated a huge fanbase for its service. As soon as you walk in, you will be warmly greeted by a receptionist asking you if you want to dine in. The technician also pays attention to your food preferences while massaging. The customer service will push the food cart around from time to time, and you are free to try out anything. From sweet rice dumplings to cold noodles, the full range of cuisines can definitely satisfy your cravings.
 

Source: Dianping.com

 
The foot massage culture in Changsha unites people from all walks of life, and it is known as the best place for someone to relax. Imagine yourself lying on a bed, enjoying tasty food, watching your favourite movie while having your muscles relaxed – what more could one ask for? 

内卷严重，长沙的足浴店拼起了美食

除了各种按摩，长沙的足浴店里还有全城最美味的食物。

2006年，一本名为《脚都》的长篇小说，把长沙的洗脚文化带到全国人民的眼前。这个起源于东北的享乐方式，在长沙繁荣昌盛得出乎意料。
 
在长沙坊间流传着一个笑话：“在北京，扔块砖下去，可能会砸中一个当官的；在上海，扔块砖下去，可能会砸中一个千万富豪；在长沙，扔块砖下去，可能就砸中了两个去洗脚的。”如果你问长沙朋友该去哪家店，他们可能会让你掷飞镖。往墙上挂个长沙地图，随便扔个飞镖都能戳中一家足浴店。
 
对手太多，竞争压力自然大。泰式、中式，精油、中草药、推背、按脚...店家们已经在这些细分项目上厮杀太久，如今更是拼起其他周边服务：K歌、看电影、棋牌、茶艺、健身、住宿...而最契合长沙这个城市的，应该是美食了。虽然其他城市的足浴店也会提供小吃，但只有长沙才会拼刺刀般的狠，每个名气大点的品牌都有自己的独门小吃。难怪有传闻，长沙最好的美食，不在街边的网红店内，而藏在巷子里的足浴店里。
 
这里我们罗列几个备受推荐的足浴品牌，排名不分先后，仅供参考。

1. 最网红的金色印象
 
作为一家2018年才进入长沙的重庆企业，金色印象凭借厉害的营销手段成功闯出一片天地。小红书、大众点评、抖音等到处都是他们家的推文。这自然也被本地人调侃为专坑外地游客。不接受电话或网络预定，只能现场排队取号，于是在这里等上一两小时是正常的事。幸亏消费之前就可以点餐享用。40多种美食小吃和水果里，广受好评的是牛肉粉和牛肉盖饭，红油抄手也堪称一绝。最值得一提的是，金色印象的小吃全部免费，想吃随时可以点。

图片来源：大众点评网

2. 主打盲人按摩的颐而康
 
这家长沙本地企业的老板也是一位盲人。从1997年发展至今，已经有了专门的按摩正骨医院，还成立了中南地区最大的盲人按摩技术培训学校。路线和其他足浴店明显不同。
 
然而这么正统的足浴店居然有着一份超级详细的菜单，从甜品到主食，从滋补靓汤到网红小吃一应俱全。颐而康的卤味比任何一家绝味、周黑鸭都地道。甜品也备受推崇，夏天来一份冰冰爽爽的绿豆沙，真是舒适极了。当然，饭点还是得来点主食，颐而康的煲仔饭和卤肉饭可是出了名的好吃。
 

图片来源：大众点评网

 

图片来源：大众点评网

 
3. 土味浓厚的四喜富侨
 
纯朴的四喜富侨因奇葩的审美风格而备受业内吐槽。老板把佛头和拿破仑摆放在一起，又让观音菩萨和希腊石柱共处一室，让人一时之间不知如何夸赞。

图片来源：大众点评网

 
朴实的技师也不跟你嘘寒问暖，推销业务。一味埋头按摩，专注自己的本职工作。然而这家纯正朴实的足浴店，本行居然是做馄饨的。难怪他家的混沌皮薄馅满，鲜香嫩滑，咬一口就是满满的幸福感。

图片来源：大众点评网

 
4. 等级森严的无为
 
来自江西的无为深耕长沙多年，并创立了一套完整的技师考核系统。新手必须经过一个月、每天十小时的培训，然后五重考试才能上岗。此后每个阶段都会考察技师的手法和对人体结构的了解程度。刚上岗的叫“普足（普通足浴技师）”，而最高级别就是“教授”。有了级别员工才有奋斗的动力。不想成为“教授”的技师怎么可能做的长久呢。
 
无为提供的长沙经典小吃“猪油拌粉”能击败赫赫有名的火宫殿。卤粉、蒸饺也广受好评。
 

图片来源：大众点评网

 
5. 富丽堂皇的浅深贵足
 
浅深贵足的评价里，十有八九都在感叹其装修之奢华。基本每个店都金碧辉煌得像皇宫，里面的房间也豪华大气。技师都经过精挑细选，据说她们拥有长沙足浴界最好的薪资待遇。技师们个个身着精致的小旗袍，甜甜的与顾客谈天说地。难怪它能成为商务宴请的好去处。
 

图片来源：大众点评网

 
浅深贵足提供的食物种类倒没那么丰富，但样样精致可口，也算是对得起它的价格。

 

图片来源：大众点评网

 

6. 五星好评见康道莱
 
从装修到价格，再到服务，见康道莱基本零差评。这个成立于2008年的品牌依靠热情周到的服务俘获了挑剔的长沙人民的心，累积了一大批忠实粉丝。而其齐全的美食更是让粉丝们成为它的免费推荐官。一进门，前台小美女就会问你是否需要吃点什么。按摩时技师也会关注你的喜好。还有客服时不时推着小车过来诱惑。煲仔饭，汤圆，凉面...样样都不能错过。

图片来源：大众点评网

 
在长沙，光顾足浴店的不仅仅是中老年人士，还有90后甚至00后的年轻人。不仅是逛街逛累了的闺蜜团，还是游玩一天筋疲力尽的大家庭，都会选择去足浴店里放松一下。也许有很大一部分人，是为了这些美食。也正是长沙人民的享乐主义，让足浴在这个小城市生根发芽，遍地开花。

Top 10 Internet Frauds in China

Here is a rundown of China’s top 10 internet scams for you to spot before it is too late. 

Frauds evolve with the times and are almost impossible to avoid. While fewer people are reporting against online fraud, the per capita loss of online fraud has hit a six-year high. From January to May 2021, China cracked over 114,000 internet fraud cases and arrested more than 14,000 criminal groups. According to data released by the Chinese Police Online, the country successfully prevented 7.71 million people from being cheated, saving a total of RMB 99.1 billion (US$15.5 billion). 

 

We have compiled a list of China's top 10 internet frauds for you to identify them and avoid getting hooked.

Data Source: 360.cn

1. Nude chat

 

This scam mainly targets men. The scammer poses as an attractive woman and induces the victim to chat naked on a fraud platform, allowing the scammer to obtain the victim's phone contacts. Afterwards, the scammer will blackmail the victim with his contact list and recordings of the nude chat to extort money.

 

The scammers usually act in groups. For example, a woman will first prerecord the videos, and then a man will use the recorded materials and send it to the victim. At times, they also download those videos from the internet. In 2009, a spoony bank president spent almost RMB 6.5 million (US$ 1 million) because of a nude chat scam.

 

Source: Weibo Account @Jiangning Public Security Online

2. Online dating  

 

Both males and females can fall prey to romance scams. Generally, such scams can be classified into four categories:

  

Asking for gifts or money  

 

In this form of online dating scam, men impersonate pretty girls to defraud men. The scammer begins to ask for money for various reasons after the two start dating online.

 

The Nanjing police recently arrested a criminal gang and released their internal training materials on the internet. The “Bible of Internet Fraud” contains a wealth of information and systematic rules to abide by. "No wonder I'm single. The scammers are much more sociable than me!" Many netizens exclaimed after reading through the "training materials".

 

Sadfishing  

 

This is when scammers weep over their miserable lives and tragic destiny. After gaining sympathy from the victim, they request to borrow money from the victims to cover their medical or family expenses. Of course, there will be no repayment.

 

Pretending to be rich

 

The scammer deceives the victims by pretending to be rich and falling in love with the victims online. At the early stage, they appear very generous. However, it is only after some time when they start to borrow money for cash flow problems. This fraud typically targets older single women as they are eager to marry men of similar economic status.

 

The pig-butchering scam

 

Scammers involved in a pig-butchering scam will first win victims' trust through a romantic relationship before duping them into a gambling or finance scheme. In addition, there are criminal organizations that specifically target foreigners for such scams.

 

In June 2020, the Neijiang police arrested a fraud gang targeting foreigners, with fraudulent activities amounting to tens of thousands of dollars a day. The organization has a clear division of labour. They have sub-divisions in charge of various functions – from sourcing potential targets online to building the platform. Specifically, one of the divisions is responsible for posing as rich and attractive women to chat with foreigners. 

 

The gang leader Liu confessed: "In our company, we have staff training on how to communicate with customers and how to recommend the high-profit investment platform inadvertently. We also register accounts on foreign social apps like WhatsApp and hunt foreigners." He continued, "to attract foreign men, these ‘rich and good-looking women’ will send videos or photos of ‘themselves’ occasionally." Most swindlers in charge of texting the foreigners know very little about English. They mainly rely on bilingual materials prepared in advance and translation software when necessary.  

 

Source: Weibo Account @the Chinese Police Online

3. Online loans  

 

The most common type of online loan scam is "naked loan" for female college students. Selfies taken by young college students are used as a form of collateral in peer-to-peer loaning systems. Female college students typically borrow money online to fund their vanity and excessive spending. Such loans carry high interest rates. Even after the victim pays off the loan, the scammers use their private photos or videos to extort money and even blackmail the victims into providing sexual services. Meanwhile, the scammers also sell off the pictures and videos to pornographic websites for profit.  

 

At the end of 2016, a series of 10G nude photos were leaked, revealing naked loans to the public and prompting a state-led crackdown.

 

Source: Weibo Account @the Chinese Police Online

4. Disguising as a public official or an acquaintance 

 

This happens when the scammer impersonates a public official. The scammer tells the victims that they are being investigated for a crime and should transfer the money to a safe account. 

 

Sometimes, the scammer disguises the victim's superior, claiming that they need money immediately due to an emergency.

 

5. Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) or shopping scams  

 

ETC scammers target car owners that use ETC services. Typically, the scammer sends a message to the victims claiming that the ETC has expired, and they need to click on the link in the message to reactivate it. In an online shopping scam, the scammer poses as an administrator stating that the victim's order has certain issues. The customers will need to click on the link provided to get a refund.

The links provided by the scammers will prompt victims to fill in their bank account details accompanied by an SMS verification process. If the victims comply, their money will instantly be transferred to several accounts.

 

6. Part-time e-commerce ‘brushing’

 

‘Brushing’ is a deceitful technique used to boost an online seller’s ranking on their e-commerce platforms by creating fake sales transactions. Users will first place an order and submit the payment. Afterwards, the seller will transfer back the users the transaction amount together with additional commission. 

 

At the beginning phase, users will be required to pay an entry fee to access the 'brushing' deals. The entry fee is relatively low. Upon joining the group, users will start with a smaller transaction amount. When trust is accumulated, the users will be allowed to deal with larger transaction amounts and higher commissions. The scam occurs at this stage, where users pay a huge sum of money to the seller in exchange for the additional commission. Upon submitting the payment, the scammers will suddenly vanish without paying back anything.

 

This scam targets mainly homemakers or unemployed individuals.

 

7. Gaming account frauds  

 

This happens when the gamers are introduced to a fraudulent platform to trade their game accounts. Upon a successful transaction, the platform will show the gamer a sum of money that they cannot withdraw. The scam occurs when the customer service requires the user to pay an amount to unfreeze the money.

 

8. Fraud targeting all kinds of illegal activities 

 

As prostitution and drugs are illegal in China, victims often seek ways to go around this online. The scammer induces the victim to transfer money for various reasons, including deposits and service charges. In such cases, most victims dare not report to the police because they fear exposing their involvement in paying for illegal services. In February 2021, the Nanjing police received a report that a man was cheated of RMB 240,000 (US$ 37,500) by an online prostitution platform. While the criminals were soon under arrest, it is difficult to recover the victim’s loss.

 

Source: fcfp110.com

 

9. Virtual kidnapping  

 

Virtual kidnapping usually targets overseas Chinese students. The scammers pretend to call the victims on behalf of the Chinese authority to inform them of suspected crimes or other threats. Afterwards, the scammers will demand the victims to pay a ransom to avoid being arrested or deported. In some cases, the victims are successfully persuaded by the scammers. They will then cooperate with the scammers by pretending to be kidnapped to bail out themselves.

 

10. Synthetic identity frauds

 

The scammers pretend to be a retired foreign officer who wants to live in China. They will request help from the victim to transfer their money or ship antiques back to China. When the victims help the scammers make payments for transportation fees, inspection fees, and even custom clearance fees in advance, they will never get their money back. The elderly are particularly vulnerable to this type of scam.

 

            

中国十大网络诈骗，你接触过吗？

本文浅析中国十大网络诈骗的套路，以供大家了解和预防。
 
诈骗与时俱进，几乎防不胜防。根据中国警方在线公布的数据：2021年1月至5月，中国共破获电信网络诈骗案件11.4万起，打掉犯罪团伙1.4万余个，成功劝阻771万名群众免于受骗，为群众挽回经济损失991亿元。360猎网平台发布的《2019年网络诈骗趋势研究报告》也显示，网络诈骗的人均损失创近六年新高。
 
今天我们了解一下中国经典的网络诈骗手段，避免踩坑。

信息来源：360猎网

 
1. 裸聊

主要针对男性。骗子假扮漂亮女网友。在社交软件与受害者沟通一番后，诱导受害者前往诈骗平台裸聊。骗子通过该诈骗平台获取受害者个人信息，然后利用相关视频敲诈勒索。   
骗子基本是团伙合作，提前录制好视频后，由男性与受害者聊天诱骗对方。甚至有时候视频都是从网上下载的。

2009年山西就有一位痴情的银行行长裸聊被骗650万。幸运的是，跟他聊天的是一名真正的女性。

图片来源：微博号@江宁公安在线

2. 网恋交友

受害者男女性都有，此类诈骗具体可以分为以下几种：

要礼物要钱

基本由男性骗子假扮漂亮女性来骗取男性受害者。双方开始网恋后，骗子以索取礼物、要钱买东西、节假日红包等手段骗钱。

南京市公安曾经抓捕过一个犯罪团伙，公布出来的内部培训资料被网友们戏称为"电诈武林秘笈"。其内容之丰富，场景逻辑安排之紧密，超乎一般人的想象。很多网友看完后高呼：“难怪我单身，原来骗子都比我会交际”。

卖惨借钱

骗子哭诉自己身世凄惨，命途多舛。然后以自己身体问题，或者家庭出状况等缘由向受害者借钱。当然，有借无还。

扮土豪借钱

骗子假扮有钱人与受害者网恋。前期出手阔绰。然后以资金周转问题等缘由向受害者借钱。这种诈骗一般针对的是大龄单身女性。她们渴望找到物质匹配的男性步入婚姻殿堂，却不幸落入骗子的圈套。

杀猪盘

骗子与受害者交友后，谎称自己有特殊渠道能挣钱，诱骗受害者在虚假的平台投资或者赌博。目前甚至有了专门针对外国人的骗局。

2020年6月，四川内江抓获一个瞄准国外的诈骗团伙，涉案金额每日高达上万美金。他们分工明确：有人专门在网上找目标，有人负责群发信息，有人专门负责搭建“翻墙”平台，还有多名男女青年专门在网上冒充“白富美”和老外进行聊天。团伙头目刘某如实交代：“进了我们公司后，我们先对所有员工进行培训，教员工怎样与客户沟通，怎样不经意间让顾客了解投资平台的高额利润。随后注册whatup等国外聊天账号，冒充“白富美”在网络上找外国人聊天。”“为赢得对方兴趣，白富美时不时地将美女视频、美女照片发送给对方。”大部分负责聊天的“白富美”根本不懂英文，全靠提前备好的双语话术材料，必要时借助翻译软件。

图片来源：微博号@中国警方在线

3. 贷款

最典型的就是针对在校女大学生的校园贷/裸贷。因贪慕虚荣高消费，很多女大学生选择网上贷款。此类贷款需提供私密照片/视频才能获取，贷款利息很高。即使受害者还清贷款，骗子还利用私密照片/视频勒索钱财，甚至胁迫她们提供色情服务。同时骗子还把视频/照片打包卖给色情网站牟利。

2016年年底，借贷宝10G不雅裸照全套图泄露，把裸贷曝光在大众面前，也因此得到国家的大力整治。

图片来源：微博号@中国警方在线

4. 冒充他人诈骗

一种是冒充公职人员，称受害者涉嫌违法犯罪，要把钱转移至安全账户。

另一种是冒充领导，称在外急需钱财，需立即转账。

5. ETC或购物诈骗

ETC诈骗针对的是已经开通了ETC业务的车主。比如，骗子发信息告知车主的ETC过期失效，需要点击信息里的链接来重新激活。

购物诈骗中，骗子冒充各种网络软件的工作人员，称刚提交的订单有问题，需点击新提供的链接来退款。

这些链接会诱导用户填写银行账号资料和相关的短信验证码。等到受害者察觉时，钱已经被分流到无数个账户，无法追踪了。

6. 兼职刷单

正常情况下，刷单是指用户先下订单并完成付款，随后商家把订单金额和一定比例的佣金返还给用户。主要是利用虚假交易量提高店铺的排名。

最基本的兼职诈骗是受害者需要缴纳一定的入会费，才会被分配任务，这种一般每个受害者被骗金额很小。

而升级版本是，当受害者免费加入这些刷单群组以后，会有大小不同金额的工作。初级用户只能接到小额的。等累积到一定的信任度时，骗子会安排大额的刷单任务。而受害者下单支付后，对方往往无声无息了。甚至还可能因保证金、系统反应迟缓、累积到一定金额才能返现等理由损失更多钱财。

7. 游戏账号诈骗

因正规交易平台转让游戏账号需要一定的手续费，骗子要求受害者去某个虚假平台进行交易。被害人在该平台进行交易后会显示有一笔钱，但无法提现。随后诈骗分子扮演“客服”以交“解冻金”等理由诱骗被害人向指定账户转账，从而完成诈骗。

8. 针对各种违反犯罪活动的诈骗

比如招嫖，买毒品。因为这些行为在中国属于违法行为，受害者通常试图在网上寻求途径满足需求。因此，基本是受害者主动入网。骗子以各种缘由诱导受害者转款，比如手续费，押金，服务费等。这种情况下，受害者担心自己被公安机关处理而不敢报案。2021年2月，南京市公安局接到报案，一名男子因网络招嫖被骗24万元，涉案金额还在追查中。有时候人容易抓到，但钱很难回来。

图片来源：反传防骗联盟网

9. 虚拟绑架案

以“案情保密”和“维护家人安全”为由，通过恐吓等手段操控受害人暂时外出躲避并切断与亲友的一切联系，进而致电受害人家属，谎称受害人被绑架索要赎金。如今这类诈骗主要针对身处国外的留学生。

10. 伪造身份诈骗

骗子谎称自己是外籍人士，退休想来中国生活。因外币汇入限额等问题需要帮忙。或者前朝遗老类，有名贵字画、古董等想要运回国。然后以手续费，运输费，检查费，甚至海关通关费等诈骗。中老年人总是容易相信这些。

Middle-Aged Chinese Women’s Transnational Intimacies

Disappointed with China’s cultural chauvinism, middle-aged Chinese women prefer to seek true love abroad.
 
In 2017, the Changsha Evening Newspaper documented a beautiful transnational love story.  
 
Fang is an ordinary girl from the Hunan province. Her early experiences prevented her from believing in love and marriage. In 2009, she moved to Shenzhen to restart her career. At an international jewellery exhibition, an American stranger offered to take a photo for her. Due to the language barrier, they did not interact after the photo-taking. In 2013, Fang's sister, who was married in the United States, was invited to a dinner by her classmate. The host also invited a male colleague of his. While having dinner, they talked about Chinese food. The male colleague expressed that he had once fallen in love with a Chinese girl at first sight, but he did not dare to go after her. Otherwise, he might have enjoyed Chinese foods for many years. 
 
Upon hearing this, the host jokingly asked the sister to introduce Fang to him. When the male colleague saw Fang’s photo, he was shocked to find out that Fang was the girl he had fallen in love with.
 
The story ended happily as the man's sincerity moved Fang, and the couple now lives together in Houston. They regularly share moments of their lives by posting videos on Tik Tok, Haokan Video and Bilibili.

Source: Tik Tok Account #Fangjie&Prince

 
The convenience of the internet and transport bring makes transnational marriages increasingly widespread. In the past, transnational couples used to know each other from a common school or workplace. Now, many couples meet each other through online social platforms instead. It is increasingly the norm for middle-aged Chinese women to find their partners of a different nationality online. As a result, they dare to pursue love despite language, culture, and distance barriers.  
 
Why seek love abroad?  
 
In China, older single women are called "leftover women" and are often looked down upon. Although public opinion towards single middle-aged women has improved over the years, the unfavourable view remains widespread in rural areas. These are the reasons why a middle-aged Chinese woman might prefer to seek love outside of China:

1. Chinese men prefer younger women, caring more about a woman's appearance and age. If not, they look for richer women that can raise their standard of living.
2. Older women are less preferred by Chinese parents, as they are often associated with a lower fertility rate. Chinese families typically want to have children on their own, and few would consider the option of adoption or allow the couple to have no kids.
3. Chinese traditional values are harsh on middle-aged women who are divorced or widowed. Women are always blamed for an unsuccessful marriage. Even after divorce, widowed women are expected to stay "loyal". Remarriage is frowned upon as it is viewed as a form of betrayal.

Middle-aged Chinese women deliberately seek partners abroad to be free from the chauvinistic culture in China. This will allow them to live the life they want without fear of judgement. 
 
According to data released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of China, the number of transnational marriage registration (including those from Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas) has been rising steadily in recent years, in contrast to the domestic marriage registration rate, which is under gradual decline.
 

 

Data Source：Ministry of Civil Affairs of China

 

Data Source：Ministry of Civil Affairs of China

 
The qualities of a middle-aged Chinese woman 
 
Many foreigners are attracted to the unique traits of Asian women while having their concerns: "I heard that many young Chinese girls treat marriage as a springboard. They leave as soon as they get the green card.” In contrast, they find middle-aged Chinese women with strong family values more appealing.
 
Middle-aged Chinese women are known to be hardworking, competent, and tenacious. They have strong family values and make it their duty to take care of their families. To the Chinese, a family consists of the couple and their children and their parents, brothers, sisters, and other relatives. Older Chinese women devote themselves to build a harmonious big family. They handle almost all the household chores and have the family matters under their control. Middle-aged Chinese women tend to take charge in making living arrangements for all their family members. 
 
In addition, traditional Chinese women are willing to share the financial burden and work to improve their family life. If they have the energy and opportunity, they will work to enrich themselves. Many women who live abroad started as enthusiastic buying agents for their Chinese relatives and friends, and their business grew steadily over time.

Source: News.sina.cn

The transnational marriage market  
 
Nowadays, many women who have found their spouses abroad share their lives on the internet. Their authentic experiences allow more people to have a sense of the lives of ordinary people living overseas. It also encourages many women to open their options and have the courage to search for true love across China’s borders. 
 
With an increased demand for transnational matchmaking, many intermediaries – both local and aboard, started to provide specialized matchmaking services to seize this business opportunity.
 
However, more people tend to meet their other half organically through online platforms such as Momo, Soul, WeChat and Tik Tok. Many of these platforms have translation features to overcome the language barrier. As a result, people can use different languages to chat without significant concerns.

Source: kknews.cc

 
Potential problems in a transnational marriage
 
When pursuing true love abroad is courageous, there are also many problems that a transnational couple will inevitably face.

1. The transition from online dating to real life will be tough. Establishing emotional connections online is very different from maintaining a relationship with someone who lives with you in real life. It takes time for both parties to get used to each other's presence.
2. Language barrier is the biggest obstacle. Most of the Chinese are not good at foreign languages. Learning ability also slows down as individuals age. In short, it costs time and energy to pick up a new language. 
3. Cultural differences play a part, and therefore couples need to adjust to each other.
4. The differing political climate may have some influences too. 

Before embarking on a new relationship, figuring out these problems early will help avoid unnecessary arguments and disappointments before it is too late.