Home>News Center>Life
         
 

Farmers go looking for love in cities
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-03-31 08:40

Zou Qingfeng admitted he even "shocked himself" when he held up a poster in front of a downtown supermarket to tell the public he wanted to find a woman to marry.

"I want to start a family but have no other way of finding my love," it read.

Zou, a farmer from Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, has been working as a plasterer for seven years in Hangzhou, the provincial capital.

"I've never had a female co-worker to date and I'm not open enough to find a girlfriend at bars," he said.

At 29, Zou says he is too old for girls in his rural hometown who normally married at about 20.

"I feel ashamed of myself for the sake of my mother," he says. "She worried so much about me."

Zou said his mother died of a cerebral hemorrhage last year. "She was about to pray to Bodhisattva (Goddess of Mercy) for me to find my better half."

Zou's bravery might bring him good luck after all, because within hours of his public announcement, several girls dialled the number he left on the poster. But few rural labourers are as brave.

Love life

Hong Guorui, a 30-year-old farmer from Northwest China's Gansu Province, could only smile bitterly when asked about his love life.

"I'd love to have someone at my side, but I don't have any chances to meet girls," he said.

In an extreme case, a rural worker from Anhui Province, East China, plunged to his death from a high-rise building in downtown Hangzhou in early February.

A police investigation showed that the man, 36, had "bought" a "wife" from a human trafficker, a peasant woman from Central China's Henan Province, but he sent her home shortly after finding out she was already married and had children at home. He was so stressed after the incident that he killed himself.

A recent survey conducted by the Zhejiang People's Hospital revealed that 90 per cent of the 200 migrant workers surveyed, who were aged between 20 and 40, felt "lonely" in cities, while 35 per cent of them were not happy with their love lives.

"If not vented properly, their stress could lead to alcoholism, suicide, rape and even murder in the worst cases," says a psychiatrist.

In China, more than 90 million rural people have left their home villages to work in urban areas. Called migrant workers, most of them return home several years later. Others prefer to stay on.

Tang Mian, a native citizen of Hangzhou, has opened a special matchmaking club for migrant workers and admitted more than 130 members in the first month, including two from other cities.

"Members of the club include security guards, chauffeurs, tailors, chefs, construction workers and other blue collar labourers," says Tang. "Membership is free. I just want them to have someone to talk to. Life is not easy for these young people."

Liu Qinglei, 33, is a high earner in the club. The technician from the neighbouring Jiangsu Province is making 1,800 yuan (US$216) a month.

Liu says he hopes to find a spouse. "A family life will probably make me feel less estranged in the hustling city."

Yao Zhiping, a business owner who employs many migrant workers, says he hopes more rural labourers get married and settle down in the city. "I like to employ rural couples, because a man tends to be more responsible and hard-working with a woman at his side."

Tang says she wants to invite all the members on a spring outing, but too few women have registered. "We have 120 men but only 15 girls."

Yi Rong, a professor with Zhejiang University, says this is because more men than women have come to work in cities.

Peasant girls

"Besides, a peasant girl might have the chance to marry an urban man, but city girls are generally not likely to marry men from the countryside. City life is therefore harder for rural men," he said.

Aware of the gender imbalance, some areas in Zhejiang have encouraged more single peasant girls to work as housemaids and janitors in cities.

"Transient workers themselves often feel they are disadvantaged in the city," says Yi. "With a loved one and a cozy nest, they tend to feel secure and less hostile towards the city."

 
  Today's Top News     Top Life News
 

China alters visa application rules for US visitors

 

   
 

Training abroad gets stricter supervision

 

   
 

65 children poisoned after school breakfast

 

   
 

Nation continues to fight US motion

 

   
 

Farmers go looking for love in cities

 

   
 

Clashes bring Uzbekistan death toll to 42

 

   
  Breast enlargement causes swellings on belly
   
  US Viacom in talks to develop gay TV network
   
  DNA tests challenge marriage fidelity
   
  A unforgettable man, Leslie Cheung
   
  Beauty contests increase in popularity
   
  Son, mom tried for fraud
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
China abolishes, lowers 15 fees for farmers
   
Farmers' pension in pipeline
   
Migrants need better sex ken
   
China's rural migrant workers totals 99 million
  Feature  
  US Photographer charged in death of porn model  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产ts人妖视频| 国色天香社区高清在线观看| 亚洲不卡在线观看| 精品国产乱码久久久久久浪潮 | 激情婷婷成人亚洲综合| 国产中文字幕第一页| 两个人看www免费视频| 天天拍夜夜拍高清视频| 中文字幕日本最新乱码视频| 最近中文字幕2019| 亚洲永久精品ww47| 精品国产一二三产品价格| 国产在线爱做人成小视频| 69久久夜色精品国产69小说| 婷婷六月综合网| 久久不见久久见免费影院www日本| 欧美xxxxx喷潮| 亚洲精品中文字幕乱码| 精品国产乱码一区二区三区麻豆 | 加勒比黑人在线| 象人族女人能吃得消吗| 国产真实乱对白mp4| 99精品国产一区二区| 成人午夜精品无码区久久| 久久天天躁狠狠躁夜夜躁综合| 欧美式free群乱| 人人妻人人澡人人爽人人精品浪潮| 美女胸被狂揉扒开吃奶二次元| 国产性夜夜夜春夜夜爽| 香蕉免费在线视频| 在线播放亚洲美女视频网站| 一级一级毛片免费播放| 日产亚洲一区二区三区| 久久综合九色综合欧美就去吻| 欧美黑人又粗又硬xxxxx喷水| 午夜不卡av免费| 老鸭窝laoyawo国产精品| 国产在线精品网址你懂的| jizz之18| 国产精品视频全国免费观看| baby直播看片下载|