Jiayuan.com, learn from Wang Po of Kaifeng

On one side is the popular Wang Po, and on the other side is the dating platform that has been repeatedly exposed for allegedly inducing consumption. Why is Wang Po so popular? Why do young people prefer Wang Po to dating platforms?

"Sorry, I have to go to Kaifeng for something." has become a catchphrase for many netizens.

The popularity of Gansu Tianshui Malatang has not yet passed, and this overwhelming wealth has come to Kaifeng, Henan. Recently, a million-level Internet celebrity was born on the short video platform - Kaifeng Wangpo, who created a record of increasing fans by more than 4 million in 10 days and more than 5 million in 15 days.

Who is Wang Po?

This is an NPC in the Wansui Mountain·Dasong Wuxia City scenic area in Kaifeng. Her real name is Zhao Mei, and her prototype comes from "Water Margin". Because of her humor, sincerity, warm-heartedness, and her love for matchmaking for young people, netizens affectionately call her "godmother".

The reason why she became famous is because she helps people find blind dates.

As long as you are brave enough to step onto Wang Po's stage, you may succeed in getting together. This low-threshold, high-efficiency, zero-cost blind date format, coupled with Wang Po's humorous language and cases of handsome men and beautiful women successfully getting together, has gone viral on short video platforms, attracting many young people to Kaifeng.

This has also boosted local tourism. Meituan data shows that as of March 26, the number of ticket orders for scenic spots in Kaifeng has increased by more than 3 times week-on-week. In the Kaifeng Meituan Fun List, Wansui Mountain Wuxia City ranks first in the "Must-Play Popularity List". Tongcheng Travel data shows that as of March 26, the popularity of tourism searches for Wansui Mountain Wuxia City Scenic Spot has increased by more than 7 times week-on-week, and nearby hotel bookings have increased by 44% compared with the same period last year.

Wang Po has been on the hot search list one after another, and the official media has also praised her by name. Netizens have called on marriage and dating platforms and "If You Are the One" to learn from Kaifeng Wang Po.

This has also attracted the attention of many dating platforms and variety show practitioners to this phenomenal figure. One practitioner told Dingjiao that Wang Po serves the same group of people as he does, and he is worried that she will steal his business.

On one hand, there is the popular Wang Po, and on the other hand, the dating platforms have been repeatedly exposed for allegedly inducing consumption, and were recently criticized by CCTV's 315 Gala. The reputation of dating variety shows has been declining all the way, getting worse every year.

In contrast to the cold and the hot, those working in the marriage and love industry may want to learn from Wang Po of Kaifeng.

1. Wang Po became popular, and the marriage and love industry became nervous

Go on a dating show, submit your resume on a dating platform, or go to Kaifeng to find Wang Po? Which one would you choose?

Sisi, who is at the right age to get married, is constantly urged to get married. Faced with the above blind date options given by her family, as an introvert, she finally decides to try with Wang Po. "You can't just go on a dating show whenever you want. Even if you do, you will continue to be criticized by the audience and even face malicious editing. There are too many pitfalls on dating platforms. It's hard to find the right person without paying tens of thousands of membership fees."

Xiao Ma also made the same choice, but he felt that Wangpo in Kaifeng " had many people over there, it was fun and lively ."

Image source/TikTok screenshot

"Focus" simply classifies blind date methods into three categories: one is for certain groups of people, with relatively fewer participants, and is mainly marriage and dating shows, such as the satellite TV blind date variety show "If You Are the One" which has been on for more than ten years, and the love-development variety shows that have introduced the Korean variety show model, such as "Signal of Love" and "I Like You, Too".

One category is aimed at the general public, such as large marriage and dating platforms, such as Jiayuan.com, as well as private marriage and dating platforms in various places, and interactive activity games that focus on various stranger social interactions, such as blind date script killings, etc.

Wang Po's popularity has now sparked heated discussions in the blind date industry. Many practitioners have summarized to Dingjiao the reasons why Wang Po became so popular.

1. Reason 1: Free + Low threshold

It's not that people can't afford to go to If You Are the One, but Wang Po's matchmaking is more cost-effective. Bobo, who works as a matchmaker in Ningbo, thinks that the free and non-profit nature of the program makes everyone want to join in the fun, which is the basis for Wang Po's popularity. "If it was charged, it wouldn't necessarily be so popular."

Free is not enough. Although both Wang Po’s stage is for making friends and there are large audiences watching, Wang Po’s stage is smaller and simpler than that of variety show stage.

It is not easy for ordinary people to participate in dating shows nowadays. The standards used by the program team to select male and female guests are no less than those used in talent shows.

Nini, an amateur who once participated in a dating variety show audition, said that during the interview, the program team would examine the guest's camera rate, record the entire process with multiple cameras, let her lift up her bangs, and ask her to walk towards the camera in order to see the guest's body posture in both motion and static situations.

Lili, who has been in the casting of dating variety shows, also told "Dingjiao" that the program team is very picky in selecting people, and appearance is very important. There will be many rounds of interviews, and each director team and screenwriter team will look at the appearance and conversation of the guests, which directly blocks a large number of ordinary people. Most of those who are finally selected are fair-skinned and beautiful, and are elite returnees. Their appearance and occupation are much higher than the average level.

In comparison, the screening threshold for dating platforms is low, but it costs money. It is easy to spend thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on a blind date, which makes most ordinary people stay away from it.

Not only do you have to spend money, but you also need to keep your eyes open and identify the pitfalls in the major dating platforms. For example, this year's CCTV 315 Gala exposed that dating platforms such as Zhenai.com, Jiayuan.com, and Baihe.com have shady operations such as inducing payment and taking advantage of anxiety to harvest consumers.

The arrival of Wang Po as a matchmaker just took advantage of the advantages of both parties. Anyone could participate and there was no need to pay an "introduction fee".

2. Reason 2: Humor is reliable and contagious

Even though the blind date stage is set up, not everyone can sing. There is only one Wang Po. Even if it is Li Po, Qian Po, or Sun Po, none of them can do it. This is because her ability to control the situation is no less than that of a professional host. Before she became famous, Wang Po had played the role of matchmaker in Wansui Mountain for 6 years. Her main task was to interact with tourists in the scenic area and enhance their sense of involvement.

"Wang Po is no worse than Meng Fei," said Li Yang, a senior variety show producer based on his many years of experience in making variety shows. Wang Po's ability to judge people's emotional intelligence cannot be taught in broadcasting and hosting schools.

When she meets sincere male and female guests, she will chat with them for a while, and when she finds male and female guests who are suspected of hype, she will quickly drive them off the stage. Wang Po not only livens up the atmosphere and makes jokes to make male and female guests relax, but also can identify "who is plotting ill", and has driven off many Internet celebrities who came on stage with microphones and wanted to hype themselves up.

“Nowadays, many people imitating Wang Po have appeared in major scenic spots, but none of them have become popular. The key is that the host’s skills are not good enough.” Li Yang commented that the aunt who replaced Wang Po two days ago was not as good and was not as ruthless in looking down on people.

Wang Po is also more reliable than the "matchmakers" on the dating platform. After all, those "matchmakers" who keep asking you to pay money are more like salespeople.

3. Advantage 3: Attractive direction

Wang Po's popularity is also due to the specific environment and IP. The cultural IP theme behind it, "Parents' orders and matchmaker's words", is very different from marriage and dating variety shows and marriage and dating platforms.

Li Yang feels that this design has a strong sense of immersion. "In ancient arranged marriages, men and women usually did not have high emotional expectations for each other. The same is true for Wang Po, who focuses on the practicality of blind dates."

The two parties put forward their height, occupation, income, family and other hard conditions, and the suitable people will come on stage to match, and it takes a few minutes to ten minutes to match, which is fast and efficient. This method can also impress the elders at home. Many netizens said that they came to see Wang Po because their grandparents and grandparents watched the video and urged them to come.

The overall real, down-to-earth and efficient blind date atmosphere, coupled with the high emotional value provided by Wang Po, allows young people inside and outside the screen to feel the joy of blind dates. Even if they fail, they have found a place to relax. All these have contributed to Wang Po's popularity.

2. Why do young people prefer Wang Po to dating platforms ?

"Who says young people don't want to get married? Kaifeng Wansui Mountain is full of people who want to get married."

Although this is a mockery of the popularity of Wang Po's matchmaking, it also makes many people realize that this generation of young people does not hate love and marriage as described on social media. On the contrary, they are very eager for it.

"Focus" randomly chatted with several marriageable men and women living in first-tier and new first-tier cities. During the conversation, everyone said that they were not completely against marriage, but just didn't want to find someone to settle for, so they kept dragging it on.

Some marriage and love practitioners also told "Dingjiao" that they did not feel that the demand in the marriage and love market has decreased in the past two years. On the contrary, many new marriage and love agencies have opened in various places. "Everyone has become more picky, and more people are looking for help from platforms." In the variety show market, dating variety shows have always been the most stable variety show type in terms of ratings and investment. Even though the overall variety show market has shrunk and the number has sharply decreased in the past two years, the number of dating variety shows has skyrocketed.

On the one hand, young people have high emotional needs for love and marriage, but on the other hand, the constant problems with love and marriage platforms and dating programs have made singles no longer trust "blind dates."

Offline dating and marriage platforms mainly make money by collecting membership fees. Some platforms will promise to match members with a certain number of suitable blind date candidates within a specified time, while others promise that as long as the membership fee is paid, it will be valid for life until the recommendation leads to a successful matchmaking.

As for the price, it is different for each company. They will also determine the difficulty of the blind date based on the customer's requirements and then set the price. Each price level is different, generally ranging from several thousand yuan to more than 100,000 yuan.

This also allows some non-standard practitioners to set up various traps.

For example, some matchmakers sell age anxiety to women while encouraging users to look for higher-priced partners. "It not only satisfies consumers' psychology and makes them happy, but also makes them buy higher-priced membership services, but the result is a low success rate, " said Tangtang, a senior marriage and love practitioner who has worked in this industry for more than ten years.

Ning Ning, a senior matchmaker in a new first-tier city, told Dingjiao that there are many tricks in the marriage and love business. She has seen many "peers" find actors to pretend to be blind date partners in order to meet client standards.

As for the payment model, some matchmakers also have a set of methods to lure users into the trap. For example, they will tell the girls who are going on blind dates that they don’t have to pay the membership fee first, but will be matched first. If they meet the right person during the matchmaking process, the membership fee will be paid directly by the man. They follow the principle of "whoever takes the initiative pays". If both the man and the woman are members, they will only charge one person's fee after the success, and the extra fee will be returned.

But in general, this is just a trick used by some dating platforms, and there is no such thing as refunds. On the Black Cat complaint platform, netizens have filed thousands of complaints about dating platforms’ false advertising, inducing payment, and difficulty in refunding.

However, dating and marriage variety shows have high barriers to entry and are difficult for ordinary people to participate in. They have also been criticized for being too scripted, and their reputation has continued to decline.

The biggest problem with dating shows right now is authenticity. "In the early days of If You Are the One, the public was very enthusiastic about participating, but as scandals like guests' impure motives and the show's scripted fraud were exposed, the audience's doubts about the authenticity of dating shows have grown," said Li Yang.

For example, a female guest who participated in If You Are the One once revealed that she was there just to act, and her profession, the shocking words on stage, and even the hand-holding were all set up by the program team. If You Are the One was also rectified for issues such as the program's value orientation.

The authenticity of the popular dating variety shows has also been repeatedly questioned. Although the production team and the guests have repeatedly emphasized that there is no script, the guests' personalities and many classic scenes have been found by the audience to be nearly one-to-one with the Korean version.

Nowadays, it has become an outlet for internet celebrities to debut and talent shows. Many of the male and female guests are internet celebrities. Even if they are not, after accumulating a certain number of fans on the show, many guests have signed contracts with MCN companies or become artists.

More than one variety show practitioner said that dating variety shows are now taking on the responsibility of talent shows. This has led to many guests not coming to the show to make friends, but to become famous through the show, and many companies will even pay to have their own artists appear on dating variety shows.

They accumulate fans through the show, take on endorsements crazily after it ends, and then announce their breakup when the contract expires. This has become the unified process for most dating variety show guests.

In order to make money, dating platforms will not easily match users with suitable partners. In order to pursue program effects, dating variety shows spend a lot of time on selecting people, editing, and processes. In short, each has its own purpose. From the starting point, the sincere and simple Wang Po is more popular with young people.

3. Don’t ruin the good matchmaking of Wang Po

Although Wang Po is a nice person, she has had a lot of troubles recently.

Recently, a man successfully held hands with a female guest on stage through matchmaking by Wang Po, but after his video went viral, his wife appeared on the Internet platform and posted her marriage certificate, indicating that she and the man were already married. Although the man apologized and explained that he was on stage as a "conspicuous bag" to stimulate his wife to return from studying in Japan, the incident still caused great controversy.

Relying on her years of stage experience and the ability to judge people, Wang Po was able to kick off the stage some internet celebrities with impure motives who wanted to attract traffic, but there were too many people who just wanted to catch the attention and join in the fun. This put Kaifeng Wang Po in a situation similar to that of some dating platforms, where the situation of the selected guests could not be accurately verified, and even the most basic marital status could not be verified.

Although Wang Po responded immediately and warned people who came to the blind date to be sincere in the live broadcast room, "Don't join in the fun if you have your own script, leave the opportunity to those who really want to make friends." But she also said that there is no other way (to identify) except for everyone's self-discipline, and she is very tired mentally and can't do anything alone. Then Wansuishan Wuxia City released regulations on its official Weibo, including that people who come on stage need to make real-name reservations offline in advance and ensure that they are single, in an attempt to alleviate the current chaos.

Many marriage practitioners believe that this is mainly because Wang Po's matchmaking service is free, and neither the scenic spot nor individuals can invest too much manpower. Once a fee is charged, Wang Po's popularity will decrease.

Image source: TikTok screenshot

However, precisely because it is free, the public's tolerance for Wang Po Matchmaking and dating platforms is different . If a dating platform that charges high membership fees fails to fulfill its verification obligations, the public will feel cheated. But when participating in Wang Po Matchmaking, everyone is more relaxed, because they know in advance that the other party's identity will not be verified, and they also anticipate that there is uncertainty about the other party's identity. At the same time, because there is no cost, young people will not care too much about whether the matched person can ultimately be successful, and they just want to have fun.

At this moment, a large number of Internet celebrities are still going to Kaifeng to participate in Wang Po's matchmaking, and some people who didn't go at all also tried to take advantage of Wang Po's popularity. On major social platforms, many people posted to thank Wang Po and said that they got married with Wang Po's matchmaking, but the authenticity of the content of the post caused some netizens to question, "Except for one sentence, there are no related stage videos or photos." With more and more such posts, everyone feels that it is more like some people are hyping it up.

These have nothing to do with Wang Po herself, but they will more or less affect the credibility of Wang Po's matchmaking.

At the same time, with the popularity of Wang Po's matchmaking, this type of matchmaking became more and more common.

Recently, a shopping mall in Zhengzhou also appeared with the same style as "Wang Po". This was an activity organized by the mall itself. The staff set up a stage on the first floor, and the host dressed up as a matchmaker to match people on the spot. The third floor of the mall was full of people. The official WeChat account of Wansuishan Wuxia City also recently released news that it will hold a national matchmaker competition and said that it has prepared a prize pool of 10 million yuan, welcoming talented "matchmakers", "matchmakers" and "matchmakers" from all over the country to come to the stage of Wansuishan to show themselves.

As more and more Wang Pos emerge in various places, it is still unknown whether it will lead to more cities to become popular or disperse the popularity of Wang Po matchmaking. However, the popularity of Wang Po has made more people see the blind date needs of young people, which is good for the marriage and love industry. This hard-won cultural and tourism phenomenon is also worth cherishing.

*At the request of the interviewees, Li Yang, Lili and Nini are pseudonyms in this article.

Author: Wang Lu, Editor: Wei Jia

WeChat public account: Dingjiao (ID: dingjiaoone)