Every year, we hardly had any money left. Living in the southern Chinese province of Fujian, the 36-year-old mother of two says, “I felt insecure but didn’t know what to do.”
Ms. Zhuo followed the trend of young Chinese individuals looking for partners online, or da zi, who share similar interests, as a result of the financial shock to her family. She has partnered with people who like to exchange money-saving advice, though, rather than going on trips or working out together.
In February 2023, the hashtag “saving da zi” made its debut on Xiaohongshu, the Chinese equivalent of Instagram. So far, it has had 1.7 million views, according to Newsrank, a data research company. Weibo topics pertaining to “saving partners” have received millions of views.
