中国的单身人群在寻找另一半

November 11th has become widely known as "Single's Day" in China. Initially celebrated in Nanjing universities in the 1990s, the occasion has largely gained in popularity as a result of the internet era and is now a special day for all fashionable, young, single people.

Our reporter Stanley Lee attended a grand gathering of single young men and women and probed their opinions about the best way to find a mate.

The search for true love is on everybody’s minds, almost one hundred young men and women gathered at a up-scale restaurant in Beijing seeking the ideal special someone.

Reporter: "These young folks are here on a blind date, hoping to bid farewell to their single lives. And the way to get started is dinner. Each pays their own fee to show they are independent."

But a blind date doesn’t mean blind preparation, it seems the organizer took special care to ensure the people who are invited are on the same page.

The hosts then tried to kick start the atmosphere, which wasn’t a hard task, within minutes the people were chatting away and sparking chemistry.

While not all will agree that being single is a problem, many Chinese do feel some urgency to engage in romantic relationships. That’s part of the reason why other ways of setting singles up is gaining huge popularity. On-line match making and dating is particularly popular for young people but some here believe they’re not enough to build lasting relationships.

Match making TV programs are also a big hit with viewers across China, this show named "If You Are The One" is said to have some 50 million people watching every episode.

But these highly educated young Chinese do not seem to have an optimistic outlook towards such a phenomenon.

And perhaps it’s these spontaneous, no-strings attached gatherings that will land you your better half.