TanTan? Tan Tan!
TanTan, or in Chinese探探 which means Explore, is a dating app which is immensely popular 
in China. With hundred thousands of users it is an ideal way to get in contact with other singles. TanTan is a Chinese clone of Tinder, the globally known dating app. Since Tinder is blocked by the Chinese firewall, TanTan is the best alternative.
The concept is as follows; you download the app, create your profile, upload some beautiful (and maybe revealing) photos, state your likes in the field of travel, food, television, movies and more and in the end, you can start ‘swiping’.
Next, you will see a profile of someone, in the example on the right, Emma Wang. After looking at her first photo you decide if you are interested or not. The first impression is the most important one! If you want to see more, press her photo to see her profile. You can now see her other pictures and her likings.
And if she likes you too, you two will have a match. Now you can start thinking of a good pickup line. If nothing comes to mind, you can always use the safe phrase: 你好 (Ni hao, hello) to start the conversation.
My personal experience with TanTan is very positive. One of the Dutch students who were 
already in Xiamen when I arrived in October told me about this app and that’s how it all started. I made my profile and started swiping. After one and a half week, when I had just started my project at Huisman in Zhangzhougang (漳州港) I had a match with a gorgeous girl from the Xiamen University campus there. After talking for two weeks we met and went to the movies. Really awkward at first, I didn’t know what to say, ask or be like. I have never dated a Chinese girl…
After that awkward first ‘date’, we met again and she showed me around the beautiful campus she lives on at the University. We talked more, a lot more and that’s how it all became more serious between us. Date after date followed and after three weeks, on the 5th of November I asked her to be my girlfriend, and she said yes.
TanTan will show you great people and bad people. It’s up to you to pick out the good ones and chat with them. It can lead to great things. Be careful about some people. I matched with two girls that wanted to go with me to The Netherlands in just 30 minutes of chatting. You can always ‘Unmatch’ people or report them in a severe case. But you should always look at the bright side of life.
You may add me on WeChat and I can tell you everything about my China experience!
Mark Jongeling (荣马克 – Rong ma ke)
Check-IT group 17