"租女友"回家過年業務異常火爆

With the Chinese Spring Festival fast approaching, "rent-a-partner service" has once again become a hot hashtag on Chinese social media.

隨着中國的春節日益臨近，“租女友服務”再次成爲中國社交媒體的熱門話題。

Pressed by families to bring their girlfriends or boyfriends back home, some young men and women prefer to rent a total stranger to appease their parents and avoid relatives' endless questioning.

受迫於家庭讓他們帶女友或男友回家的壓力，一些年輕男女更願意租一個陌生人來使父母放心，這樣還可以避免親人們無休止的追問。

According to a recent survey, the problem of "forced marriage" is most serious in central China's Henan province, and it is very common to rent a girlfriend or boyfriend home in its capital city of Zhengzhou.

最近的一項調查顯示，“逼婚”現象在中國中部的河南省最爲嚴重。在其省會鄭州市，租女朋友或男朋友回家過年是很常見的現象。

It's reported that some local matchmaking agencies charge at least 3,000 yuan (US$456) for a decent partner-for-rent during the Spring Festival period.

據報道，在春節期間，一些當地的中介機構對“租女友服務”收取至少3000元的費用（456美元）。

However, lawyers warn that such deals are not protected by law, and recent years have witnessed many related disputes.

然而，律師們警告說，這些交易並不受法律保護，而近年來也發生了許多相關的糾紛。