Last Updated on 2023/10/18
Whether you live in China or want to date someone from China, know that international relationships are no longer problematic with so many dating sites at your service.
These platforms have literally blurred those borders, bringing likeminded people together. It is extremely beneficial for most people but it is nothing less than a blessing for LGBTQs in China.
The LGBTQ Community in China
Even though in China, only a small percentage of the total population considers themselves part of its LGBTQ+ community, it is still a significant number of people.
Since the late 1990s, China has adopted policies that promote greater tolerance—beginning in 1997 when the government took homosexuality off its list of mental illnesses.
Redefining homosexuality by not officially regarding it as a type of madness, opened the door to social change so that by the year 2000 many people were calling for more LBGTQ+ rights.
By then there were lively and flourishing LBGTQ+ communities in Beijing and Shanghai, both the big cosmopolitan cities.
By 2005, Fudan University, one of China’s major centers of learning, began offering LGBTQ+ study courses and Shanghai was hosting annual pride parades.
China has come a long way, but the LGBTQ+ community still faces challenges. There are no plans to recognize same gender marriages, creating legal complications for couples with shared lives and assets. And that is why people turn to online dating to find local gay partners.
Using LGBTQ+ Apps to Connect
Despite China’s efforts to demonstrate tolerance to the western world, it is not an easy country to be LGBTQ+ in. Technology has helped, though.
Many Chinese use dating sites regularly and despite the traditionalists calling for censorship, so do the LGBTQ+. Still, many popular gay dating sites in China have around 40 million users across the country.
Online has become the meeting place the LGBTQ+ people of China never had. People can form lasting loving relationships or find a connection without the fear and stigma of social disapproval.
The Idea of Dating Across Borders
However, even with the availability of China based LGBTQ+ dating apps when Chinese LGBTQ+ want to look for partners internationally they access apps via a VPN.
The Chinese have embraced all aspects of social media and one result is a thriving local Chinese LGBTQ+ online social scene. Although in many places the idea of homosexuality and gay rights remains contentious, technology is helping close the divide.
Despite the successes of local dating apps, many people still use international dating apps to ensure long-distance relationships.
As the community looks to VPNs for a safe way to connect with each other outside China, Chinese developers have been working on smaller local apps to negotiate around the censorship rules and internet regulations.
Meeting More LGBTQ+ in China
Meeting online has many advantages. It saves time and is simple and a fast way to meet and get to know more people. For the majority, dating sites and apps are a way to find love and spend time with likeminded people without feeling judged.
Although the Chinese LGBTQ+ community is more visible, it is still only a small percentage of the population spread across China, a vast country. The Chinese LGBTQ+ community is thin and widely dispersed but on dating sites and apps, people meet and chat no matter how far away from each other they are.
Using dating apps LGBTQ+ in China can meet partners located elsewhere in the country and all over the world. Most continue to use the apps features to maintain their long distance relationship. They send instant messages and make video calls to anywhere in the world.
Dating sites are convenient and affordable everywhere but they provide value for money for the LGBTQ+ community based in China.
Here are 5 tips for successful LGBQT+ dating in China to keep in mind.
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