1、Finding Mr. Laowai in 90 DaysThere are a lot of things you can learn by taking courses. But who would have thought that learning how to make a foreigner man marry you would be one of them？ Liang Yali the founder of the “Seek-a-husband” training programme has made it a reality in Shanghai and Chinese
2、 women from all over China can participate in the hunt of a so called “Laowai husband”（Foreign husband）. Liang opened her marriage business in 2009 and according to herself her success rate has stayed at a constant 60 per cent. “They must be desperate” 52-year old Tony who is working in the shipping
3、 industry in Shanghai doesnt believe that 90 days is enough to make a foreigner marry you. But he does believe that the women would have a better chance if they could speak English： “It really depends on who they are. If they can speak pretty good English they already have a good chance， if they can
4、t speak English I would say no chance. And If they have tried to live abroad they will have a much better chance because otherwise they will not have any idea of how society works outside China， ” Tony explains. Rune Jarnes from Sweden who is a 40-year-old tourist in Shanghai isnt as sceptic about i
5、t. He believes that it will actually work， but the amount of money you have to pay for the courses is a bit too high according to him. “I think it will work actually. But the payment is a problem. It will be their monthly salary if not more， but Im sure that there is room for a lot of different thin
6、gs in Shanghai because there are a lot of different people， so I actually think it could work， ” Rune Jarnes says. A one-day course with Liang Yalis “Seek-a-husband”training programme costs 2，800 yuan. A more advanced course costs more than 40，000 yuan and if the advanced course doesnt make Mr. Laow
7、ai say the two magical words “I do” you can get an “unlimited” package which costs 100，000 yuan. According to 33-year-old Chris Schwarz who is a businessman from Germany only desperate women would pay that kind of money for such a training programme： “Im not sure if I like it because at the end it s
8、hould be love and not a business. Its more like a business and its like they think now that I have done this course Im qualified to have a foreigner as a husband. Maybe its working pretty well for the business but its not working for the women and I dont believe it will last， ” he clarifies. Dreamin
9、g of the west Both the foreigner and Chinese men believe that the women who attend such courses do it because they dream of getting a better life in the west. “The food quality， water quality， environment， welfare and many other things in China are not as good as it is in foreign countries. Those wo
10、men want better welfare for themselves， better education for their children and better medical conditions. Many Chinese women think it is better to live in foreign countries and to marry a foreign man”， Andy who is a 34 Graphic designer from Shanghai explains. 29-year-old Peter who is from China and
11、 works as an Account Executive thinks that the women believe they are making an investment by attending such courses. He thinks that the Chinese women might do it， because they dont believe that the Chinese men are as “good” as the foreigner men： “Maybe Chinese men are not as good as foreigners， or
12、not good enough for Chinese women？ I think some women might consider the expense as a kind of investment to improve themselves ? maybe their English skills， social skills and charm. Moreover， the Western culture and fortune is a great magnet for those women， ” he says. Both the foreign and Chinese m
13、en are aware of the fact that it is about finding a rich foreigner man. Even Liang Yali （the founder of the “Seeka-husband” training programme） admits that the aim of the course is not just to find a foreigner but an elite foreigner. But both the Chinese and foreign men agrees that love can not be b
14、ought like that. “Is that LOVE？ I do not think so， and I would never do that， ” 29-year-old Zhang Yujie exclaims. Golden age is over According to Liang Yali the main target for her “Seek-a-husband” training programme is the single women who are above the age of 35. She opened her marriage business a
15、fter she got a divorce and found her own Mr. Laowai afterwards. She says that her courses teach women “how to select appropriate targets， use charm and sell their intellect”. She has several examples of women getting married after attending her classes. One of her examples is a 35-year-old Chinese w
16、oman who learned a bit of English and managed to find a husband who worked as a manager at a large German construction company afterwards. The Chinese men whom China Business Focus met understand why the Chinese women are having a hard time finding love when they have passed the age of 35： “Young Ch
17、inese men cant accept divorced women. And， maybe it is harsh， but a lot of Chinese men believe that women older than 35 have passed their golden age and lost most of their charm， ” Zhang Yujie who is single explains. Ouyang Bida， a 29-year-old arts editor， agrees and he is happy that a company can h
18、elp these women： “Single women， older than 35， might have mental problems because of the stress. People will generally consider single or divorced women older than 35 to be problematic， picky， arrogant and maybe lesbian ? which can lead to the disturbances for others. If this program can solve the p
19、roblem， it will help reduce the womens stress， ” he says. According to statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs about 2.87 million couples divorced in mainland China in 2011. It has increased up to 7.3 % from 2010. Does that may mean that Liang Yalis business will get more popular and that more Chinese women might be looking for their Mr. Laowai？
