Dating Apps in China
Swipe for love
New in China, or on your way, and scared you won’t find love? Or maybe your current love interest doesn’t like your pet, or the other way around, and it’s time to replace them (the love interest, not the pet). Don’t you worry, with the availability of a multitude of dating apps in China, you might just find the one.
Momo – 陌陌 (mò mò)
Momo is the oldest and currently one of the most successful dating apps in China. Once you’ve created your profile, you can discover people near you, group chats, nearby events and more. The app has functions such as games, emoticons and premium membership so you’ll never get bored with it.
The app executives sell the app as one where relationships, monogamous or not, are possible and they are not just a “one night stand app”. To expand their superpower, Momo plans on partnering with Alibaba, the e-commerce giant, to generate more profit and have a stronger market hold.
Qing Chifan – 请吃饭 (qǐng chīfàn)
This one is a personal favourite and hopefully many will agree. Qingchifan literally means to invite to eat. Create a profile on this app and look for individuals you might be interested in. Once you’ve found the one, they will receive a notification and they can then invite you out to eat with them.
The great thing? It’s already predetermined who will pick up the check. Him, her or split it. Their choice of restaurant might say a lot about them as well. (Potentially) free food and (hopefully) good company, what more do you need?
Liuliu – 遛遛 (liú liú)
What every pet owner (or pet lover) has ever dreamed of – an app where you can match with people based on their pets. Upload a photo of yourself with your pet, or even just your pet, and scroll through photos until you find the best companions for you and your pooch.
Did all of your dating app dreams just come true?
Blued
Introducing one of the largest gay dating apps in China, Blued. The app was founded by Geng Le, who wants the legitimization of same sex relationships to be taken seriously in China.
To create a profile, users send a short clip to the app team which they then compare to the photos the user wants to upload to their profile. In this way, users can be verified and all verified users get a tick next to their name (bye bye catfish). Search for users near you, group conversations and post live videos and photos. Happy scrolling!
Tantan – 探探 (tàn tàn)
Tantan is Tinders twin app. The layout, swipe rejection and other functions of the app are exactly similar to those of Tinder, making it a very popular app as Tinder requires Facebook to create an account – which is blocked in China.
On a slightly scarier note, the app tells you how often you were in the direct vicinity of a match and even tells you when and where the almost-run-in took place. As the app cannot pull your personal information from a social media network, you’ll have to manually input your information and interests. What a bother. Once your profile is set up you are ready to swipe away!
Tinder
Every millennial and their cat knows about Tinder. The app is popular in China amongst locals and foreigners travelling through China. Thankfully, free VPNs are becoming easily available on smartphones making Tinder easier to access since it is linked to your Facebook account, which is blocked in China.
Using the Chinese dating apps and meeting Chinese locals would be easier if you spoke Chinese though, wouldn’t it? Follow classes at Hutong School, skip Tinder and try your luck on one of the Chinese apps. You never know what could happen!
