Chinese women rent boyfriends to avoid disapproving parents during holidays

Single ladies, take note -- there's a new service for sale in China that gets rid of nagging parents wondering when you're finally going to "settle down."

A Chinese online shopping site, Taobao (among others), is now offering up boyfriends for rent, and women are snapping up gents like they're going out of style in time for the holidays.

The trend, which is just getting attention now, is reportedly most popular around the Chinese New Year (Jan. 31), when young women head home to visit family for the holidays and dread the inevitable questioning of their love lives, reports English People Daily.

Also see: The people you need to avoid at your holiday party

For anywhere from 500 to 8,000 yuan a day ($86 to $1,400 CND), women can rent the peace of mind of having a young man on their arm during family dinners and holiday parties.

"There are many reasons why women pay for this service," Mr. Gao, a rent-a-boyfriend business owner, tells ABC. "Some are trying to make their boyfriends jealous. Some want to bring a boyfriend to attend their company's annual dinner party to show their bosses that they are settled and stable."

Gao says the women who rent boyfriends are often wealthy, around age 25, and have parents who fear that no one will want to marry their "old" single daughter. In China, women who aren't married by age 27 are referred to as "leftover women."

Also see: Your boyfriend's biggest threat is literally underfoot

As for the rental boyfriends, there are strict rules that prohibit them from engaging in hanky- panky with the women. Only hand-holding and pecks on the cheeks are allowed when parading in front of others.

“I only rent my time, not my body — you know what I mean,” Matthew Fan, a rental boyfriend of two years, tells The Daily Dot.

Before the transaction is made, the buyer and seller exchange photos online and agree to the terms of service. The cost includes anything from transportation, dining and accommodations.

Also see: Jane Austen's guide to a successful marriage

Does this business cross the line, or is it harmless? Tell us in the comments below.