2008 Nov 11 11/11: Single's Day
For most Chinese youth, today's date has nothing to do with a far-away war that ended 90 years ago. In recent years, the repetition of the digit 1 in 11/11 has been taken by many as a good enough as an excuse as any to celebrate Single's Day or 光棍节 Guanggun Jie. To mark the occasion, various speed and blind dating events will be taking place across town while other singles will use the day to display their pride in their singledom.
However, according to a poll that is getting a lot of coverage in today’s papers, more and more people (especially young professionals) are wishing that they didn’t have to celebrate the special day anymore. The results, of what was no doubt a highly-suspect and totally unscientific poll conducted by zhaopin.com, revealed that men want to be married by the time they are 30 and 62.1% of respondents thought that women should be getting married before they’re 28. The poll results also indicated that 70% of single professionals are worried about their single status and yearn to find a partner. The poll also revealed a drop in the number of people who would never consider going on a blind date. In a sign of growing desperation, only 5.9% of respondents said they would never go on a blind date down from 9% last year.
Highly restricted match-making fairs are another indication of how difficult it’s becoming to find a partner in the capital. Last month a match making fair held in Haidian Park required all attendants to produce their personal ID, copies of their academic qualifications and work ID just to get in the gate. The strict rules were to ensure that all attendees held a Beijing hukou, were aged between 26 and 40, had a university degree or above and worked in either a government department or academia.
Update: Foreign Expert has a nice little roundup of Single's Day-related content on Chinese-language sites.
Links and Sources
Qianlong: 愁在心头口难开 28当嫁30当婚七成单身想结婚
The Beijing News: 大龄白领相亲 凭“三证”入场
Netease: I'm Single, I'm Happy image
Baidu: How are we going to spend Single's Day image
You might also be interested in :
Horrific Halloween Highlights this Week in Beijing
Love it or hate it, Halloween is here again. As ever, bars, clubs and events promoters are throwing parties and encouraging you to dress up, look ridiculous and have fun. These are some of the horrific highlights – most are for adults only, but a few are suitable for kids and families. All parties take place on October 31 unless otherwise stated.Weekend Live Music Roundup: Beyoncé comes to town, Arch Enemy headbanging and Midi turns 10
The weekend feels shorter after the week-long holiday, but here are three shows worth checking out (or to miss) over the coming weekend.
Win Tickets to Zoo Electronic Music Festival
The lack of DJs at Modern Sky Music Festival may have been disappointing to some, but fear not, the label has got even bigger plans - The ZOO Electronic Music Festival will be held on Oct 16 and Oct 17 at Haidian Exhibition Hall (inside Haidian Park), featuring DJ Spook, Pet Conspiracy, The Death Set, Classixx, Patrick Yu, LIman and many many more DJs and electronic bands. The party start at 8pm and last until midnight.
Quick Link: October 1, the abridged edition
So the party is over, the holiday is finished and we’re all back at work. But if by some miracle you missed the televised parade on October 1 (and the endless re-runs ever since), check out this cool little video put together by UK newspaper The Guardian.Howlin' at the Moon - Where to Moon Watch this Mid-Autumn Fest
Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, when the moon is said to be fuller and brighter than at any other time of year! Reason to dig out the binoculars and get onto Beijing’s best bar terraces and rooftops. It’ll also be one of your last chances to enjoy outdoor drinking before many terraces close or are frosted over for the winter!
