

You might remember the story of a Hebei man who became a star in China a few years ago after photos of him with his beautiful Ukrainian wife went viral online. Well, now he’s hoping to help other Chinese men replicate his success.

Mei Aisi comes from a working-class family in Chengde and didn’t do particularly well in school. As a young man, he decided to pursue higher education in Ukraine because of the low cost, despite not actually knowing anything about the country (at first, he thought it was in Africa). But, in the end, things worked out pretty well for Mei. He met a pretty Ukrainian high-schooler through playing ping pong (when he was 28 and she was 16), married her, and eventually started a successful import-export business.





Mei Aisi posts with his wife and daughter.



However, Mei has since decided to branch out and capitalize on his fame in his home country. He says that after his story went viral in China, many people began contacting him, asking how they could get a beautiful Ukrainian bride of their own. This inspired Mei to launch the Culove Dating Club, which connects successful Chinese men looking for wives with attractive Ukrainian women.



In order to recruit women for their club, Mei’s wife’s sister goes out on the street to approach promising candidates, offering the chance to meet “exceptional Chinese men.” At one point, she even tries to talk to a pair of 15-year-old girls.



In order to get the Ukrainian women ready for their eventual life in China, Mei’s agency holds language and culture classes, teaching the women how to count to ten in Chinese and where the best shopping centers are.



Culove holds several matchmaking events each year where dozens of Ukrainian women are introduced to a small group of Chinese men looking for partners. The events kick off with each woman descending down the staircase one by one.



This is then followed by awkward conversation and dancing.



Mei rejects those who say that his dating club is just a fancy international prostitution ring, asserting that when compared to Chinese matchmaking services, his club is more about love and less about “business transactions” that highlight material wealth. He says that he hopes to grow his business in the coming years into a successful international brand by opening branches in Belarus and Russia as well.



In this effort, he already has a great slogan picked out: “One belt and one road across the world to connect Chinese men and Ukranian women with love.”



You can watch a video from Jiemian News about Mei’s business venture below. The video has been translated by ChinaFile, entitled “I Married a Beautiful Ukrainian Woman And So Can You.”



[Video via ChinaFile



