In China, lovelorn men give dating schools a chance

in several Chinese cities.

The number of students who take offline courses at Fall in Love Emotional Education has grown from one in 2014, to more than 300 now, according to Zhang Mindong. About 90 per cent of graduates end up with girlfriends, he said.

Motley gang

At the October session, there was Yu Ruitong, a 23-year-old software developer who had three previous relationships; Ye Chaoqun, a 27-year-old smallbusiness owner who is hoping to make the woman he likes fall in love with him; and James Zhang, a 30-year-old oncologist who is looking to expand the circle of women he knows. Both Ye and James Zhang have returned to polish what they learned earlier - this time free of charge.

To show his students what they were up against, Zhang Mindong held up a profile of an attractive woman on a dating app that had garnered “likes” from 7,000 men. “This is the environment in China,” he said.

In the first hour, Zhang Mindong proclaimed them sartorial disasters. Most of the first day was devoted to improving dress. (“Narrow collars, sleeves should be folded up above the elbow and trousers should be fitted.”) They bought clothes and got haircuts.

Beefing up the resume

The makeovers are followed by the students posing for photos - reading Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, sipping tea and nibbling canapes presented in a silver bird cage, looking pensively out a window. That culminated in selfies with Wang Zhen, a female friend of Cui’s.

That’s designed for dating in the digital era. In China, where the mobile internet has revolutionised social life, getting to know a person takes place almost exclusively on WeChat, a popular social media tool that is used by nearly 1 billion people.

Most social interactions in China usually start or end with people scanning each other’s WeChat QR codes - a practice known as saoing - or adding each other’s WeChat IDs. Many women form their impressions of men based on photographs on WeChat’s Moments, a Facebook-like tool.

On a Thursday night outside a busy shopping mall in Jinan, the students got their first challenge: approach women and ask for their WeChat contacts.

“You give her two choices: ‘Why don’t you add me or I sao you?’” Zhang Mindong told the students. “So no matter what she picks, you’ll succeed.”

After practicing their moves on Wang, the students set off. Zhang Zhenxiao rushed up to two women, who paused but continued walking. He chased after them and stopped them again. After a minute, they walked away.

“I didn’t succeed,” a dejected Zhang said, returning to the group.

“No, the fact that you approached them means you did,” Cui said, patting him on the back.