Forget Meetic, Tinder and Happn!
In the city of Shanghai (China), it is in the huge Ikea furniture store that older people flock to try to meet their other half.
Every week, seniors gather in the store's cafeteria, despite the Swedish chain's attempts to kick them out.
Every Tuesday, hundreds of them occupy the tables of the spacious restaurant.
No traditional Swedish meatballs on the menu, but tea, snacks and even alcohol.
All brought from home.
These widowers or divorcees, whose children have already left the family home, want to find their soul mate in this place whose atmosphere and noise level are more reminiscent of a school canteen than an establishment for the elderly.
“It’s always better than staying at home”
“There’s nothing embarrassing about talking about this.
It's not just young people who need love.
Old people too,” explained Qingqing, a former retirement home director with impeccable makeup.
These lively retirees exchange tangerines and tea or litter the tables with walnut shells.
Of the 297 million Chinese aged 60 and over, a quarter are single, according to official figures.
And if several generations lived under the same roof in China in the past, many seniors now live alone.
Seniors meet once a week in this furniture store cafeteria.
Hector RETAMAL / AFP AFP or licensors
“I feel alone all the time.
Life is very boring at my age (…) I would like to find a new partner,” insists Gu Yijun, a dynamic 73-year-old divorced ex-bus driver.
The Ikea store is an hour and a half from his house.
But he says he is optimistic about his chances of finding the right fit.
“It’s also a way to relax and have fun.
It’s always better than staying at home and looking in the mirror, being alone with your reflection,” he philosophized.
An attractive and affordable place
These meetings at Ikea have existed for more than 10 years.
But no one knows exactly how it all started.
“It's difficult for us to go to more upscale places,” so the simple and inexpensive environment of Ikea “suits us better,” summarizes Xu Yizhen, a friend of Qingqing.
Li Shiqi (left) met a woman through these meetings at Shanghai Ikea.
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP AFP or licensors
Li Shiqi, a painter familiar with the place, deplores the fact that some have “quite selective” criteria.
“According to some, the success rate here is less than 3%,” he says.
The 74-year-old man, however, says he met a woman last month, currently traveling.
“We had a crush on each other.
I like her looks and her age, she is relatively young.
I'm waiting for her to come back and if we are ready at that time to start a romantic relationship, we will get together.
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