Dating in Chinese Culture in a Nutshell

Updated on Jul 2023

As you can expect, the dating culture in China is different from Western dating culture. Local adults have different backgrounds, traditions, and views on life, so their expectations must differ from singles in the West. One of the most interesting things that we found out is that Chinese start dating after college or university. It is surprising but true. The truth is Chinese students are overloaded with homework and take the education process seriously, so they do not have time to fall in love and go on dates.

If you want to meet Chinese singles online, you will see that most girls are not younger than 25. Chinese are also hard-working people, so they spend 10 and sometimes 12 hours working hard to provide for themselves and their families. Yet, it does not stop them from falling in love, looking for love, getting married, and creating families.

In this article, we will talk about Chinese dating culture, what singles expect in relationships and how to date Chinese girls if you are a foreigner. Since Asian women are popular among foreigners, you must be one of them to come to this page. Well, you will learn about local dating culture, wedding traditions and get tips on getting a stunning Chinese bride. Let us guide you on China dating culture to succeed.

Interesting Facts About Chinese Relationship Culture

In this part of the article, we will tell you interesting facts about Chinese dating culture and give you examples of how women and men date in this country. If you want to succeed in dating a single Eastern lady, you must know Chinese dating traditions. While exploring Chinese dating etiquette, we found many similarities with Japanese dating culture.

People Start Dating After 20

As we have already mentioned above, In Chinese dating culture, girls and boys start dating after graduation. Some of them start looking for dating partners after finding a job and becoming independent. These people are known as organized and mature, so they start their love life after reaching 20.

Only Serious Relationship

There is no casual dating, Chinese dating is marriage. Here people are interested in serious dating and making their relationship last. Local women and men do not have one-night stands or practice open relationships. After a couple of months of dating, they get married and start a family. Sex is considered a sign of a serious relationship. However, some people will not even have sex before marriage.

Pragmatic Purposes

In China, just like in the West, singles have pragmatic purposes when they look for marriage partners. For example, a woman would not date a man who does not have a house or car. A man will unlikely date a woman who does not have a career. It all comes down to expensive living, so everyone wants to know that dating will cost them too much.

Parental Involvement

In China, parents tend to get involved in their children’s relationships a lot. In local dating culture, a woman or a man who has just started dating will ask for his/her parent’s approval. If, for some reason, one or both parents do not like a potential spouse, continuing a relationship for a young woman or man will be difficult. In China, people listen to their parents’ advice often and respect their opinion. Going against parents’ will is considered the rudest thing.

chinese dating culture
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Important Dating Customs in China

It is time to learn about the main dating culture customs that you should learn as a foreigner. If you have already learned about local climate, weather, money, and food, it is time to learn how to date women; knowing the chinese dating rules, you will have a better understanding of dating dynamics and have a better chance to succeed in dating a local lady:

  • Come across as a gentleman
  • Respect your date’s parents
  • Try hard to get her parent’s approval
  • Prepare gifts for your date and her family
  • Respect their wedding traditions
  • Propose to your date after a few months of dating

These customs should tell you that local people are serious. They are respectful and tolerant and expect the same from foreigners. Try to look at local dating culture as an interesting experience, and then accepting some of the local customs will be easier for you.

Famous Chinese Wedding Traditions

Before moving to Chinese wedding traditions, let us tell you that people believe in fortune-tellers and often ask them to choose the best day for the ceremony. It is believed that The Tung Shing astrological calendar determines auspicious dates, including a wedding day. It is the 5,000-year tradition that even nowadays people follow and trust. But what happens during a wedding?

The Betrothal

Before the wedding ceremony, the groom has to present betrothal gifts like gold jewelry, dragon and phoenix wax candles, tea leaves, or wine symbolizing prosperity and good fortune to the bride’s parents. The bride’s parents should return half of the gifts as an acceptance of the groom’s proposal.

Invitation

Chinese wedding invitations are usually red with gold lettering, which bears the Double Happiness symbol. The invitation should have a date for the wedding banquet, order of birth, and names of the bride, groom, and respective parents.

Preparation of marriage bed

Preparation of the marriage bed is called An Chuang in China. This wedding custom usually takes place two or three days before the wedding. The tradition is carried out by the bride’s relatives. The bed must be dressed in new red color beddings. The pillows should be filled with a mix of dried fruits and nuts. Such a combination symbolizes a happy and long-lasting marriage blessed.

Hair combing tradition

Another surprising and intimate tradition is hair combing. This ritual must be performed the night before the wedding. The bride and groom will shower with pomelo leaves to cleanse off bad spirits and change into new red clothes and slippers. Then the bride must sit in front of a mirror or a window, while the groom sits facing the inside of the house. The respective parents must prepare red taper candles and scissors, one stick of incense, a wooden ruler, a hair comb, and red yarn with cypress leaves. A woman of good fortune will light the candles and start the hair-combing ceremony.

Wedding games

In China, door games are called Chuangmen and are prepared by the bridesmaids to test the groom’s desire to marry the bride and get her parent’s approval. The groom must eat spicy, sour, bitter, and sweet food, which symbolizes going through different stages of marriage.

For the marriage registration process, you should know the age limit. Currently, the legal marriage age is 22 for men and 20 for women. This proves what we have said earlier in the article about local people being more mature starting serious relationships later than Westerners.

Success story from Chinese women

Success Story #1 Image
Eric 💞 Lutatia AsianMelodies logo
9.7
When Eric found Lutatia on the dating platform, he had no idea that she would be from Latin America. He had always thought his wife would be from a more traditional European country, but he decided to give Latin America a try. After all, he had never been there before.
Success Story #2 Image
Kyel 💞 Floria TheLuckyDate Asian logo
9.0
Kyel and Floria matched on a dating platform and started chatting. They hit it off right away and decided to meet up. When they finally met, they were both surprised at how good looking the other was. They went out on a few dates and everything was going great. Kyel loved how passionate Floria was about life and she loved how romantic Kyel was.
Success Story #3 Image
Xio 💞 Richard EasternHoneys logo
9.9
Richard was a successful businessman who had everything he could ever want, except for love. He had tried every traditional dating method, but he always seemed to end up with the wrong type of woman. He was about to give up hope when he decided to give online dating a try. He found a site that seemed promising and created a profile. It wasn't long before he received a message from a woman named Xio. She was beautiful, intelligent, and successful in her own right. They hit it off immediately and began dating. Within months, they were both head over heels in love. They got married and are now living happily ever after. Thanks to online dating, Richard finally found the love of his life.
Success Story #4 Image
William 💞 Min AsianMelodies logo
9.7
William had been single for a while and was growing tired of the bar scene. One night, on a whim, he decided to sign up for an online dating site. He wasn't expecting much, but he figured it would be worth a shot. He didn't have any trouble creating his profile, and he was soon bombarded with messages from interested women. One in particular caught his eye: her name was Min, and she was stunning. They began messaging each other and quickly realized they had a lot in common. They arranged to meet up for coffee, and the rest was history. They hit it off right away and have been together ever since. Thanks to that fateful meeting on an online dating site, William and Min are now happily married with two kids.
Success Story #5 Image
Brian 💞 Ji-an AsianMelodies logo
9.7
Owner of a retail chain, Brian barely had time for anything else but work. That’s because he joined an international dating service to meet Korean brides online: finding a soulmate in his area seemed almost impossible. He wasn’t specifically looking for Korean ladies but when he saw Ji-an’s photos, he knew he had to know this beautiful Korean woman. He admits that Ji-an was the sweetest, nicest person he ever knew. Very soon, he couldn’t imagine his life without talking to her and that’s when he realized he had to meet her in person! The couple had to go through many difficulties related to preparing a fiancé visa for the Korean bride and bringing Ji-an to the US. But it’s history now: they’ve been married for two years and have a cute baby son.
Success Story #6 Image
Richard 💞 Ha-yoon EasternHoneys logo
9.9
Asian culture always fascinated Richard. When he was a child, he spent a few years in South Korea with his father, a military officer. He loved the country and friendly Korean people and knew he had to go back one day. And he did - and was lucky enough to meet lovely Ha-yoon who was then a student. The couple felt special chemistry from the very first meeting and after Richard went back home, they started talking to each other via a Korean dating site and soon realized they can’t be apart! This was a life-changing decision for Richard: he decided to relocate to Korea to be with his Korean bride Ha-yoon. Richard and his life partner have been happily married for four years now and have two beautiful kids.

Is Marriage on Foreigners Allowed in Chinese Dating Etiquette?

Foreigners can get married in China. There is a large number of American men who want to date and marry Eastern women. For this, you must have a residency visa. Also, the marriage should be registered at the place where the residency permit was issued. If you were married previously, you would have to provide a document that proves that you are currently divorced and can enter a new marriage. Another document that is required is a health certificate. You will need to undergo health checkups if you want to get married in this country.

If looking for a Chinese bride at a professional matrimonial service, you will be assisted by dating experts that will tell you what you need to have for marriage in China. Reliable mail order bride services have a big experience in helping single American and European men to get special visas for marriage in this country.

Do Chinese Look for Love On Dating Sites?

Chinese are some of the biggest Internet users, so they are fans of dating services and apps. As we have already mentioned earlier, there is a big demand for Asian brides among Western men. Chinese girls also like the idea of meeting handsome and caring guys from the West. The Chinese marriage problem is men spend all their time working and gambling. After a hard day at work, men would rather go to a bar for a few drinks and spend their money on gambling.

This forces women to search for men who would enjoy returning home from work and spending time with them. Knowing how affectionate, generous and caring Western men are, they join dating sites to meet their perfect match.

Many popular Asian mail-order bride services would connect you with sexy Eastern young girls and mature women. Join an international dating site and look for stunning women who put information about wanting to date foreigners in their profiles. Now you know everything about Chinese women dating culture, so your chances to succeed are high.

Dating Relationships in Chinese Culture vs American Culture

Dating relationships in Chinese cultureDating relationships in American culture
Dating for up to 1 year before marriageGetting married in the West is not a must regardless of how many years couple date
Getting parent’s approval on a new dateKeeping relationship private
Following old wedding traditions is respectfulCouple rarely follow traditions and rather have fun with their friends on a wedding day
Sex is a sign of a serious relationshipSex is just fun and does not mean anything

FAQ

What Is Dating Like in China?

The dating culture in Asia implies serious relationships and respect. In the modern world, people in this country get married after 25. They focus on work and becoming independent as life in China is expensive. However, some traditions are similar to the West. For example, Chinese adopted the traditions of Westerners on celebrating Valentine’s Day. They exchange gifts and set romantic dates.

How Long Do Chinese Women Date Before Marriage?

Usually, local women date men between 3 to 12 months before getting married. They necessarily need to get their parents’ approval and prepare for a proper and traditional wedding. In this country, people follow the traditions of their ancestors, which makes weddings incredibly interesting for foreigners.

At What Age Do Chinese Get Married?

The average age of marriage in China is between 22 and 27. The current Chinese marriage law allows men to get married at 22 and women at 20. Local people tend to get married after graduation. Getting higher education and finding a well-paid job are priorities for local people, so they look for love partners after they feel independent.

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Lian
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Age 25
Occupation Cosmetologist
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