Recently I’ve been intrigued on why many Chinese women are looking for a foreign spouse. I thought then why not just ask them directly? So off I went.

First girl, is a a recent high school graduate who is hoping to study overseas. She hopes to find a foreign boyfriend, but he has to be White. She really likes Starbucks and English accents.

Translation of interview:

I don’t want a Chinese man. Well, foreigners are just so honest you know, they say things as it is. For them the truth is the truth. This is unlike Chinese people who are all so fake. Seriously, foreigners are not fake at all. They just say what’s on their mind. I think it’s great. They definitely aren’t like Chinese guys, who all have an objective. Foreigners are different. If they like you, then they like you. If they don’t like you, then they don’t like you. They wouldn’t try to lie to you. This is why I want to find a foreigner, I’ve had this idea for a few months. They all asked me, “Why find a foreigner? China has so many men. It’s because I’ve been hurt too much already. Lied to so many times. It’s really left an impression on me. I don’t want to be in contact with Chinese (men) anymore, they feel so fake to me.

She has also been on TanTan (Chinese Tinder) swiping for foreign matches. Sadly, she has recently been met with unfavourable results.

She showed me this photo of a TanTan encounter with a foreigner. She said she did not mind them being ‘liberal’ but sometime it was a bit too much.

Second person is white collar worker who hopes to find a gentleman type foreigner for marriage. She is fluent in English and teaches it part time.

Translation of interview:

I think part of it has to do with appearance, girls like (men) who are big and tall…with more diverse hair colours…and foreigners have tall noses making them very handsome….and they all really care about exercising and caring for their bodies. Intellectually, foreigners are just more global and know more. Generally Chinese girls will like those who are more knowledgeable. Foreigners are also very polite, they have good manners. For me, one certain foreigner left a very deep impression on me. One time I was at his place washing my hands. He told me to not use too much soap as it’ll pollute the environment. He told me that the Chinese sewage system did not have a way to treat such waste so I should take more notice. At the time, I was very surprised, he was very selfless in his thinking, as he cared about the country and other matters that were on the news. I found the way he would follow current affairs very admirable. Also, you usually want to find someone with a different attitude from that of yourself. Chinese people find foreigners have a vastly different way of thinking. You can never guess what they’ll think of next. In my opinion, this will spice up a couple’s life. Foreigners have strong logical and critical analytical skills. I’m not saying Chinese people don’t have such skills, but they are just not as good at critical analysis as foreigners. Comparatively, this will make Chinese girls think foreigners are intelligent. As they will use logic to look at an issue, in order to solve it or analyse it. They also are very balanced in outlook, rarely sensationalising.

The third girl works within the arts, she says she actually prefers speaking English over Chinese. She enjoys Hollywood movies, keeping in shape and really has a burning passion for the less fortunate. Unfortunately, she refused a voice interview.

I asked her: “Why not local guys?”

Her reasons relating to why she didn’t like Chinese men, were mostly to do with hygiene and manners.

All the interviewees were from within the big Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Of course being just personal interviews with a small sample size focused on a single topic, you should not take this as gospel, but more as some food for thought on the Mainland Chinese dating scene.