SHANGHAI: Still struggling to find partners despite the glut of websites,
clubs and events aimed at pushing them together, Shanghai's lonely hearts are
being given yet more help in tracking down that special someone.
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Bracelets target white-collars
too busy to find love. [China
Daily]
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Arriving in the form of a bracelet that identifies wearers, both male and
female, as 'single and looking,' the new accessory is designed to help
singletons pick each other out in the crowd.
Mr. Sun and Ms. Zhang, both white-collar workers in Shanghai, fell in love at
first sight after glimpsing each others' bracelets on the subway.
"I saw a young man next to me wearing the same bracelet as me and I noticed
that he was looking at me too. When our eyes met, we both felt something between
us," said Zhang.
She had picked up the bracelet, which is black with a red letter M, just
moments before from outside Hengshan Road subway station, where they were being
handed out.
According to the man who came up with the idea, a Mr. Wang who goes by the
Internet name of "Shooting Star Prince," the bracelets are aimed at
white-collars who are too busy working to spend time looking for a partner.
"If you have ever seen someone you liked on the bus or subway but not done
anything about it, think what might have happened if you'd both had the
bracelets on. If everyone looking for love wears these bracelets, we can really
make things happen," said Wang in an online interview.
Having struggled to find a date himself, the 28-year-old office clerk who
works for a foreign company in Shanghai realized public places such as buses and
subways were an ideal place for singles to meet, if only they could identify
each other.
"Just as I expected, the bracelets worked! There are already several couples
who have met each other because of them," he added.
The venture has been sponsored by the "Let Us Marry" wedding company who are
paying for the bracelets and handing them out free of charge.
"We consider it an interesting experiment and a good chance to extend our
business from wedding planning to helping young people meet each other," said
Let Us Marry manager Gan, adding that they were trying to attract more
sponsorship.
Wang says the next two bracelet giveaways will be at People's Square in late
July and at the South Shanxi Road subway station, in late August.
(China Daily 07/06/2006 page3)
