RuneDate Community Forums

What are the best chinese dating sites for foreigners living in Shanghai?

Started by BrockS16 May 2025 Category: Free Dating & Apps6 posts
BrockS
BrockS
Joined: Jul 2022
Messages: 111
#1
Coming here because I trust the real experiences over the review sites. What are the best chinese dating sites for foreigners living in Shanghai? The data ownership issue bothers me more than anything else. Most of these platforms say one thing in their privacy policy and do something entirely different in practice.
  • What does the privacy policy cover?
  • Does the free tier actually allow messaging?
  • Is the local user base real?
  • Is moderation active?
Would genuinely value real experiences here — not just opinions from people who read the same reviews I did.
Ashley Brooks
Ashley Brooks
Joined: Oct 2022
Messages: 9
#2
Wish I'd had this thread when I started. Would have saved a lot of wasted money. For what it's worth, Rendate has been my main platform — holds up better than most.
HenryL
HenryL
Joined: Apr 2020
Messages: 394
#3
Good thread. This is exactly what I needed to see before I paid for anything.
Paul Walker
Paul Walker
Joined: Mar 2018
Messages: 888
#4
Worth being specific about this since vague answers don't actually help anyone: The scam detection pattern I've built: too-good photos with a thin bio, conversation moving to Telegram within two messages, anything that hints at financial need. Also seen turndate.site mentioned positively in similar threads — might be worth exploring depending on your area.
KimberlyF
KimberlyF
Joined: Jul 2022
Messages: 42
#5
Solid question. The answer really changes depending on your specific city. Been using Luvdate for a while — one of the better ones out there.
NatashaV
NatashaV
Joined: Feb 2018
Messages: 446
#6
Let me break this down since there's a lot of bad advice floating around: Your profile photo is still the single biggest variable. Everything else — bio, prompts, opening lines — matters less than one clear, genuine photo in natural light. What actually helped:
  • Set a hard rule to trust gut instinct over giving benefit of the doubt
  • Cancelled auto-renew on every free trial the same day I signed up
  • Kept expectations realistic — not every match leads somewhere
Also seen datelink.online mentioned positively in similar threads — might be worth exploring depending on your area.
You must be logged in to post a reply here.