Dating in college is the first thing that comes to my mind when talking about relationships and dating amongst Chinese youth. Since dating is the “required course”, most Chinese students are very passionate and willing to spend money on it. Recently, I’ve been talking with a couple of college students about their dating costs in order to understand what is important for them and how these costs influence their lives.

Scofield Tan is a 22 year-old guy studying at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology. Here is a list of his monthly dating costs (in RMB):

1. Food 200
2. Transportation 100
3. Party 350
4. Shopping 200
5. Hotel 200

Total costs: 1050RMB

Most Chinese college students get money from their parents every. month, Scofield is no different. He receives 2000 RMB per month which is much more higher than most people in college. According to enoVate team member Sunnie Qin, her classmates receive around 500 to 800RMB per month.

Sunnie is a 21 year old female studying at Shanghai Ocean University. Let’s take a look at her list:

1. Food 150
2. Transportation 60
3. Buy snacks 50
4. Party 150
5. Cellphone bill 30
6. Shopping 400

Total costs: 840RMB

Sunnie receives 1200RMB every month from her parents which is still higher than most students from Tier 2 cities. Sunnie also mentions that in a typical Chinese relationship, guys spend more money than girls.

According to the above information, we see that generally students that date spend at least half of their living fee on dating. They mainly spend their money on food, shopping, and parties. Students from Shanghai, Beijing and other Tier One cities receive more money from their parents so of course they are the main spenders. Clearly the costs of dating bring these university students happiness, but it it not required. How to spend money on the right thing and how to make money is something they must think about in the future.