2010 Feb 10 Rent-a-boyfriend for Spring Festival
Spring Festival tales of woe are common from single Chinese friends and colleagues, with may parents stepping up the pressure at this time of year to find someone, get married and perpetuate the family line. The Global Times reported today that at least one cashed-up Beida student has come up with an innovative solution to parental pressures – rent a boyfriend for Chunjie.
The articles claims: “Last week, a female student at Peking University placed an ad, offering ‘10,000 yuan ($1,465) a day for a boyfriend to take home for the Spring Festival celebrations.’ She wrote in the ad that her parents had told her to bring a man home, or 'you can forget about coming home for the holiday,' according to ifeng.com."
In good news for foreigners looking to make a few kuai over the break and enjoy some home-style cooking, the Global Times piece also claims that “the use of foreigners as short-term stand-ins” is a new trend.
The reporter claims to have placed two ads online, one offering the services of a foreign male and one seeking a man to accompany a local girl home over the break - no doubt along the lines of this ad placed in the Beijinger classifieds.
A Frenchman who replied to the Global Times-placed advertisement said he had done this kind of “work” before, and asked for RMB 800-400 a day – a long way short of the RMB 10,000 offered by the Beida student. Perhaps French men command a lower rate? Still, 800 kuai a day for sitting around watching TV and eating isn’t bad. And who knows, if things worked out over Chunjie it might be possible to extend the contract.
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Chun Yun Travails
The Spring Festival move has started. Chun Yun is the world’s largest yearly human migration and it is expected that half of China’s population will travel over the next few weeks. With up to 700 million people traveling trying to get home is no small feat and people have found lots of ways to avoid train travel, which - from the looks of it - does not bode well for a relaxing holiday.
Family Feud: Memories of an Explosive Spring Festival
Spring Festival is a time for family and blowing shit up, but since I grew up in Virginia without extended family or illegal fireworks, Chinese New Year got lost between the fanfare of Christmas and the narcissistic revelry of my birthday. Kowtowing to my parents for a red envelope became a formality – like a lapsed Catholic going to Christmas mass – before it was stopped altogether. I left China at the age of four, which means I must have celebrated Spring Festival when I was very young. I have no memories of it, though. So when I came back to China in late 2007, I was excited to celebrate Spring Festival the right way – with family and explosions.
Time For Temple: Chinese New Year's Fairs
One of the best parts about staying in Beijing over Chinese New Year is the chance to attend the temple fairs. Food stalls serve up goodies from chuan’r to cotton candy, while carnival games let you shoot, throw or guess your way to a bundle of cuddly stuffed animals. This year, expect plenty of dragon paraphernalia as well. All you have to do is pick which ones to go to and work on your pitching arm in the meantime.
Fireworks Banned from the CBD
The CBD may have a quiet Spring Festival now that fireworks have been banned from the area. After six years without any restrictions, during which there was a steady rise in fire and injury (like this memorable one), the ban is back.
Chinese airport delays - Now worse than India!
Beijing Capital Airport has taken a bit of an international beating since Forbes magazine and the Beijinger last year released some damning statistics about the airport’s abysmal flight punctuality. Yet, this problem seems to be nationwide, and still decending into chaos. With Spring Festival soon approaching, we can expect more delays at the airport.
HuanChu
Re: Rent-a-boyfriend for Spring Festival
A very smart man wrote:
lodgerly
Re: Rent-a-boyfriend for Spring Festival
...The chance for foreign boys to take the few kuai is slightly.
Chinese girls need to think about it before they decide to rent a foreign bf to go home together.
Show Oligarch
bobby_liu
Re: Rent-a-boyfriend for Spring Festival
renting bg/gf home is rare in china.
BUT, doing fraudelent things are common in china
Bubble Dreams
Re: Rent-a-boyfriend for Spring Festival
I don't see the advantages of renting a boyfriend/girlfriend to go home, what's next then? Renting the husband/wife?
On the other hand, people could have a reason to accept such offers, though, if it's good enough.
Life is not that nice. It will put you to the test. And if you dodge it now, life has a funny way of putting it right back in front of you again, and again, and again, and again, until you deal with it.
joepie
Re: Rent-a-boyfriend for Spring Festival
total nonsense
SOHOJAZZ
sonic sculptry
pang duner
Re: Rent-a-boyfriend for Spring Festival
creative girl! try with me?
but Spring Festival... over a period of time.
paul xx
Re: Rent-a-boyfriend for Spring Festival
if you really get along with foreigner. pls loved he or she with your heart!
hi nice to see you!