Explained: Why a Chinese city is rolling out its own dating app

For many of us, attempting to find the perfect partner can be trying to say the least.  Now, one city in eastern China is helping citizens out by unveiling its own matchmaking service. Let’s take a closer look: Guixi, a city of around 64,000 people in Jiangxi province, is using residents’ data to make matches. As per The Guardian, the app entitled Palm Guixi comes with a platform to fix up blind dates. The app was created as part of an initiative in Jiangxi to increase the marriage rate – which has been on the downslope for the past decade. The province in 2021 recorded 5.4 marriages per 1,000 people compared to 6 per 1,000 in the US, as per The Guardian. Marriages across China went down in 2022 with the number falling to 11.6 milion – 700,000 lower than 2021 – from the 2013 peak of 23.9 million, as per the website Dao Insights. The push comes as Chinese officials look to crack down on traditions like “bride price” – where a groom offers his bride’s family money prior to marriage.

This tradition, despite being outlawed, remains common in rural areas.

One local official told Bloomberg husbands-to-be pay as much as $43,000. As per The Guardian,, Xianji province in 2022 topped the nationwide rankings of bride prices. The online response has been decidedly mixed with some tying the push to Beijing wanting to increase the birth rate. China’s birth rate in 2022 fell to a new low of 6.77 births per 1,000 people, as per Arab News. China’s population also shrank for the first time in 60 years. Others have derided the project and claimed the government wants its citizens to “breed like pigs.” This isn’t the first time authorities have made such an attempt. As per Arab News, Luanzhou municipality in China’s Hebei province pushed a project few years ago trying to match single men and women. China isn’t alone in trying its hand at Tinder-like services. According to Bloomberg, Japan has resorted to state-sponsored matchmaking – albeit without much success. China and Japan are both struggling with ageing populations and the burdens on society that such a skew bring.

In 2021, Iran launched a state-run dating app entitled Hamdam.

The app said it would help singles discover the right partner for a “sustainable marriage,” as per Arab News. Experts say this might not be the best way to encourage child-rearing. Speaking to Bloomberg, Feinian Chen, a professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University said the increasingly entrenched expectation that women will stay home and raise the children means “the opportunity costs of having more children or having children at all are simply too high.” Regardless, dating apps continue to grow in popularity in China. According to The New York Times, the number of dating apps with over 1,000 downloads touched 275 this year. That, up from just 81 in 2017.

“It’s really difficult to meet people,” Raphael Zhao told the newspaper.

The 25-year-old college graduate from Beijing added, “Because the pool is so large on these platforms, it gives you hope that you’ll meet someone that you jibe with.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.