Foreigner Surviving in Beijing

David Friesen is a 26 year old Englishman from London; he's being working as a writer in Beijing for 4 years. But he's very proud of his new title "media entrepreneur".

Because David couldn't speak Chinese when he first came to this country at the tender age of 22, like most new arrivals, for him, fitting in was a bit hard.

"When I first came, I couldn't speak any Chinese, and I didn't' really know anybody, it was quiet difficult to meet people, the community is quiet disjointed and (transy?) and people come and go all the time."

It is hard to keep track of all your friends, and it's extra hard to find someone special to spend the rest of your life with, especially when you're living a "Lost in Translation" kind of life.

"In terms of dating, I think it was fairly hard, especially looking for dates within the ex-pact community, 'cause you make a few friends, but then outside of that, there's no real way to make connections with people who you might be interested in."

With David and his friends experiencing the same problem, he decided to do something to really connect the ex-pat community, two months ago, he set up a dating website at www.zhongguodate.cn. The website is particularly aimed towards foreigners living in Beijing. David explains his reasons of building the site.

"I've seen there's a demand in the market, and also being an ex-pact here, not just from my experiences, also from experiences of friends, it's quiet hard for them to go on dates, especially if they don't speak the language, and I think it's particularly hard for old ex-pacts, 'cause they don't go to clubs and bars all the time."

David says his early encounters with his partner via the Internet inspired him on setting up his website. Now, apart from working as a writer, he's playing the role of website "entrepreneur", including publicising the website and upgrading user security levels.

"It's quiet a good bridge between local communities and foreign communities to meet people who are true and serious about going on dates… I've had some feedback from people who've used the site saying that it's been useful and made basic connections, but obviously it's only being going on for a few months so it's too early for any success stories."

Everyone loves company, especially when you're living abroad, and David is the man who tries to provide the service, but like the man said, the website just got online and has a limited influence, but his effort in trying to change his own community is respectful, and steady progress towards his goal is almost a sure thing.

From China Drive, I'm Huang Rui.