Three young bachelors have posted their pictures and personal information on a billboard on a bustling Beijing street and are waiting for calls from their future wives.
Novel approaches to find dates are becoming popular among young people, but not everyone approves of the new trend.
The oversized lonely-heart advertisement has been up in Zhongguancun, China's "Silicon valley" in Beijing, since the Qixi Festival on Aug 23, the traditional Chinese day of romance.
Gao Weilun, 30, the CEO of an IT company in Beijing, said on the billboard that he does not want a gold-digger girlfriend.
"I don't have time to find a suitable girlfriend because of my busy schedule and limited choices," Gao said.
"Besides, I think it's acceptable to post my requirements and cell phone numbers on a billboard. We need to have the courage to tell others what we want in love."
All three bachelors agreed to post their statuses and requirements this way, he added.
Also appearing on the billboard are Zhang Yang, 27, and Shi Ying, 33. The costs of the billboard will be divided between the three bachelors and dating website, Baihe, which submitted the proposal and arranged the advertisement.
Renting the billboard for a month will cost each of the bachelors about 50,000 yuan ($7,870).
"I felt a little overwhelmed by so many calls in four days, from women who want to be friends with me, and even from their relatives, who recommended someone to me," Gao said.
So he decided to put finding a girlfriend aside for a while.
"Besides, I received a call from a woman I used to love, who was also my classmate," he said. "Thanks to this advertisement, she found out I'm still single and available, so now we are back in touch."
Many people believed the billboard was just a website promotional gimmick. And not everyone approves.
