Single Men from Northern China Still Prefer to Make the First Move: Survey

Women wooing men is particularly taboo in the northern provinces of Heilongjiang, Hebei and Shandong. (Photo : China Daily)

A survey conducted by Chinese dating website jiayuan.com reveals a disparity between single men from northern and southern China. According to the survey, single men from the south are more likely to be wooed by women than their northern counterparts.



Women wooing men is particularly taboo in the northern provinces of Heilongjiang, Hebei and Shandong.




"This is what a man should do if he loves a woman," siad Liu Jiangbo, a 29-year-old man from Shaanxi Province. He made the first move to his girlfriend five years ago. "As men, we should not wait for women, who are usually shyer than men, to be the first to say 'let's start a relationship.'"



Experts believe that this outlook is influenced by the centuries-old concept of women being more inferior than men.



"Influenced by such thinking, Chinese [men] tend to feel that men should take the initiative in doing many things, including wooing women, rather than the other way around," said Zhang Jiarui, a senior consultant on romantic relationships from jiayuan.com, in an interview with China Daily.



"Although the inferiority concept is dying out and Chinese women are more open and proactive in modern society, in some parts of China, as mentioned in the survey, men still believe that they should be the first to ask about starting a relationship," Zhang added.



Meanwhile, men from southern China are more accepting of women who make the first move. Men from the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai are particularly receptive of this practice.



The survey, which polled over 85,000 single men and women from all over the country, was released on Wednesday, Nov. 11, to coincide with Singles' Day.

