Rent-a-date (2)

Services agreed upon

These kinds of services are not scarce on the Internet.

On taobao.com, China's largest auctioning website, there are at least 716 services that offer boyfriends for hire and 1,495 that offer girlfriends for hire.

The slogan for one of the stores reads, "As you age, are you facing increasing pressure from your irresistible parents to get married? Hire a boyfriend or girlfriend as a companion for your trip home and they will help you deal with your parents and friends who concern themselves with your personal life."

The online shops listed details of the service which include hanging out in public together, friendly conversation, attending friends' parties, seeing a film together, and remarkably, kisses priced at 10 yuan each.

"Our young generation is facing great pressures at work and economically that hinder them in building a family, but traditional values require them to marry as soon as possible," said Peng Xiaohui, a vice secretary-general of the World Association of Chinese Sexologists, adding that Chinese parents' expectations for their children's marriage prospects are mismatched with their current economic status.

"Even though the young generation in China is exposed to different cultures and lifestyles, traditional Chinese values are still prevailing," Peng said.

Legal issues

Chen Xifeng, an associate professor at Xiamen University's School of Law, said contracts for the hiring of a boyfriend or girlfriend are invalid and not protected by the law.

"Although different parties in the contract are well-intentioned, this kind of contract is inclined to cause many disputes," Chen said.

"So it is better to be prudent when hiring a partner," Chen told the Global Times.

Chen said that these contracts could be deemed as emotionally damaging by the customers' family and friends, or a third party, who have not signed the agreement and might seek damages, according to Chen.