"Everyone is quick at jumping up and down and demonizing 985 blind dates. They suggest it precludes love. In fact talking about academic qualifications is more idealistic and less materialistic than cutting to the chase and talking about things such as what property you own. I don't hear too many people finding fault with the love-business transaction. Similar educational backgrounds can be a catalyst for wonderful romances."

The gender imbalance adds fuel to the blind date phenomenon as women feel more compelled than men to be involved in such encounters. The total sex ratio between men and women in China reached 104.45 in 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics says, and there are more single men than single women. On one of the high-end blind date platforms the ratio of male and female users is about 3:7, and in the marriage and love market in first-tier cities, high-quality men are a scarce commodity.

"This kind of high-end matching reflects the current state of anxiety among young people," says Guo Peihui, psychological consultant at the Psychological Counselor Alliance, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.

"Everyone is eager to find the same good partner because they are afraid that his partner is inferior to others, that their children will be inferior to others, and that they will be dragged down by a marriage mismatch despite their longtime hard work.

"In the final analysis, relationships in China are too attached to a worldly perspective. But unfortunately I think the more you see such a phenomenon, the less likely it is that young men and young women will find their ideal partner."