USA TODAY – May 18 – You Are the One and Take Me Out are China's top-rated TV entertainment shows. The programs, which both first aired in January, have generated discussion about money worship among China's younger generation. They also highlight how a perpetual human struggle, finding the right mate, presses harder than ever in the world's most populous nation. The shows' popularity is easy to explain, says Tian Fanjiang, CEO of baihe.com, a matchmaking website. "There are 180M single people in China," Tian says. "They and their parents are all worried about the marriage problem." "The Chinese family is unique in the world, as we have a one-child policy," says Take Me Out producer Liu Lei, "but parents attach great importance to carrying on the family name, so marriage is a big issue." Liu insists that the money-worship of some contestants does not reflect mainstream Chinese society, but she concedes, "Many girls really love rich men." 15 000 women applied for a chance to date a wealthy man at an event May 1 organized by matchmaking website jiayuan.com, says Zhang Guoyu, director of the company's Southwest China branch. In June, 50 of them will meet the men who paid $14,650 for the service. FULL ARTICLE @ USA TODAY
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