Audio By Carbonatix
It was supposed to be a quick get-to-know-you -- but a snap Covid lockdown forced a Chinese woman to stay with her blind date at his house for days on end.
The 30-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Wang, went to meet her blind date for a home-cooked dinner on January 6 in her hometown of Zhengzhou, a city in central China grappling with a coronavirus outbreak.
"I'm getting old now, my family introduced me to 10 matches," she said in a video on social media. "The fifth date wanted to show off his cooking skills and invited me over to his house for dinner."
Just when Wang was about to go home after the meal, she found out the whole neighborhood had gone into a swift lockdown, she said.
China regularly seals off communities after Covid infections are detected among residents. These sudden lockdowns -- along with mass testing and extensive quarantine -- are part of the country's stringent zero-Covid strategy to quickly stamp out local outbreaks.
Unable to leave, Wang was stuck at her date's house for days. She posted videos of her unexpected co-living experience on social media, showing her date cooking meals for her, sweeping the floor and working on his laptop. The videos quickly went viral, with Wang's encounter becoming a top trending topic on Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform.
Wang had returned to Zhengzhou from the southern city of Guangzhou recently ahead of the Lunar New Year, and spent a week meeting potential suitors her family had set up for her, she told state-run news outlet The Paper on Tuesday.
"During quarantine, I feel that apart from him being reticent like a wooden mannequin, everything else about him is pretty good. He cooks, cleans the house and works. Although his cooking isn't very good, he's still willing to spend time in the kitchen, I think that's great," she told The Paper.
In Wang's videos, her date is seen serving stir-fry meals such as tomato and scrambled eggs -- a popular dish in China.
Wang said in a post Monday that she had hidden her original video from her account after it went viral.
"Right now I'm still at the man's house. He's an inarticulate, honest person and he doesn't talk much. After my video became trending (on Weibo), some friends started calling him -- I think it has affected his life. That's why I removed it," she said.
"Thanks everyone for your attention ... I hope the pandemic will end soon and that single girls can find a relationship soon."
As of Thursday, it is unclear whether Wang is still living at her date's house.
Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, has reported more than 100 Covid-19 cases in its ongoing outbreak. Authorities on Tuesday shut all non-essential businesses, such as beauty salons, banned dine-in at restaurants and suspended buses and taxis in higher risk areas.
Latest Stories
-
PCM Capital Partners exits First Atlantic Bank through oversubscribed GSE IPO
4 minutes -
Oti Regional House of Chiefs pays courtesy call on NPA CEO
36 minutes -
Choosing between marriage and church
40 minutes -
GTEC orders University of Ghana to comply with approved fees or face sanctions
48 minutes -
Black Star International Film Festival appoints Aba Arthur as Diaspora Ambassador
58 minutes -
Opponents dazed by our support in Northern region – Bawumia Campaign denies coersion claim
1 hour -
US to suspend visa processing for 75 nations, State Department says
1 hour -
Prisons Service to produce sanitary pads, uniforms and furniture for schools
1 hour -
AFROSON1C X storms Accra with sold-out show
1 hour -
Ghana, Canada strengthen immigration cooperation as 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches
2 hours -
US pulling some personnel from Qatar air base, official tells CBS
2 hours -
Star Oil pays GH¢ 2.6 billion in taxes and levies for 2025
2 hours -
The Uncertainty of Precision: How VAR Mirrors the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in Football
2 hours -
Paradigm Initiative condemns internet shutdown ahead of Uganda elections
2 hours -
Jospong’s sustainability drive deserves more spotlight nationally and internationally – Dr Gloria Kusi
2 hours
