By . Ruth Styles . PUBLISHED: . 07:56 EST, 13 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:40 EST, 13 September 2013 . With almost 100 million members, it is not stretching the truth to say that Jiayuan.com is not the average dating website. Set up by Shanghai based Chinese entrepreneur Gong Haiyan, the 10-year-old site is the biggest in China and dwarfs Western sites such as Match.com, which is estimated to have just 15 million singles on its books. Now Gong, 37, has revealed the secrets of Jiayuan.com's phenomenal success in an interview with the BBC - but claims that China is sitting on a singledom time bomb. Success story: Shanghai entrepreneur Gong Haiyan posing with photos of couples who met via the site . 'I feel that in the future if more than 20 million men cannot find a wife this could bring serious social problems,' she told BBC reporter Lucy Ash. 'We hear on the news about more single men visiting prostitutes for example. Everyone needs a mate - a life partner - this is a very basic need for every human being.' Thanks to China's infamous one-child policy, official figures show that by 2020, the country will have more than 24 million men unable to find a wife. And it isn't just Chinese men who are having trouble finding a partner. Census figures show that one in five women between 25 and 29 are unmarried - a phenomenon that Chinese commentators have dubbed 'sheng nu' or 'leftover' women. According to experts, the problem is caused by the Chinese preference for men to marry down - both in age and status. Gargantuan: Jiayuan.com has a staggering 100 million users and is the biggest dating site in China . Marriage: Gong set the site up at the age of 27 and met her scientist husband via his Jiayuan profile . As a result, Huang Yuanyuan, a 29-year-old Chinese journalist and researcher, told the BBC, there is a pool of 'A-quality' women with high intelligence and social value for whom getting married just isn't happening. This is where Jiayuan.com steps in. Gong, who met her own husband, a scientist studying fruit flies, on the site, says most of their users are looking for lifetime partners. 'Our users are looking for life partners, not a bit of fun,' she revealed, adding that the site steps into the gap left by traditional village matchmakers or 'Red Mothers'. 'For migrants from the countryside like me, it is next to impossible to rely on the old social networks to find a husband,' she explains. 'When I got to Shanghai I had no friends or family there.' And finding the right person alone, she adds, isn't easy. 'There is an information asymmetry - the person you are looking for does exist but you don't know where to find them. 'On the other hand, because you are aiming for such an ideal partner, the person who does have the qualities you are looking for might not love you back in reality.' So what advice does she give lonely hearts? In an earlier interview with CNN Travel, Gong had this tip for women: 'Don't passively wait to be contacted. Taking the initiative by sending potential mates messages shows you are serious about finding love. In a country like China with typically shy women, you will immediately stand out.' Booming: Gong's successful site signs up new users every second and has been floated on the stock market . While, for men, China's number one matchmaker recommended the following: 'In your initial message, make a specific reference to what you find attractive or interesting about the woman you are contacting. 'When she is browsing messages, yours will immediately stick out, and compliments make a great conversation starter.' And with 4.5 million marriages already under her belt and new users signing up to her website every second of every day, Gong Haiyan is one romantic mentor worth paying attention to. According to the most recent census figures, one in five Chinese women between 25 and 29 are unmarried. Dubbed 'sheng nu' or 'leftover women' in the Chinese media, is currently causing a real headache for the government because most are what journalist Huang Yuanyuan describes as 'A-quality' women. 'There is an opinion that A-quality guys will find B-quality women, B-quality guys will find C-quality women, and C-quality men will find D-quality women,' she told the BBC. 'The people left are A-quality women and D-quality men. So if you are a leftover woman, you are A-quality.' Nevertheless, according to the National Marriage Survey undertaken by the Chinese government in 2010, just one per cent of men thought it was acceptable for women to marry between the ages of 31 and 35, with the overwhelming majority - 60 per cent - saying a woman should marry before the age of 27.
Gong Haiyan, 37, is the Shanghai entrepreneur behind Jiayuan.com .
The site currently has almost 100 million singletons on its books .
Gong has told the BBC that China is headed for serious social problems .
The reason for the issue is the growing number of singles, particularly men .
By . Ruth Styles . PUBLISHED: . 07:56 EST, 13 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:40 EST, 13 September 2013 . With almost 100 million members, it is not stretching the truth to say that Jiayuan.com is not the average dating website. Set up by Shanghai based Chinese entrepreneur Gong Haiyan, the 10-year-old site is the biggest in China and dwarfs Western sites such as Match.com, which is estimated to have just 15 million singles on its books. Now Gong, 37, has revealed the secrets of Jiayuan.com's phenomenal success in an interview with the BBC - but claims that China is sitting on a singledom time bomb. Success story: Shanghai entrepreneur Gong Haiyan posing with photos of couples who met via the site . 'I feel that in the future if more than 20 million men cannot find a wife this could bring serious social problems,' she told BBC reporter Lucy Ash. 'We hear on the news about more single men visiting prostitutes for example. Everyone needs a mate - a life partner - this is a very basic need for every human being.' Thanks to China's infamous one-child policy, official figures show that by 2020, the country will have more than 24 million men unable to find a wife. And it isn't just Chinese men who are having trouble finding a partner. Census figures show that one in five women between 25 and 29 are unmarried - a phenomenon that Chinese commentators have dubbed 'sheng nu' or 'leftover' women. According to experts, the problem is caused by the Chinese preference for men to marry down - both in age and status. Gargantuan: Jiayuan.com has a staggering 100 million users and is the biggest dating site in China . Marriage: Gong set the site up at the age of 27 and met her scientist husband via his Jiayuan profile . As a result, Huang Yuanyuan, a 29-year-old Chinese journalist and researcher, told the BBC, there is a pool of 'A-quality' women with high intelligence and social value for whom getting married just isn't happening. This is where Jiayuan.com steps in. Gong, who met her own husband, a scientist studying fruit flies, on the site, says most of their users are looking for lifetime partners. 'Our users are looking for life partners, not a bit of fun,' she revealed, adding that the site steps into the gap left by traditional village matchmakers or 'Red Mothers'. 'For migrants from the countryside like me, it is next to impossible to rely on the old social networks to find a husband,' she explains. 'When I got to Shanghai I had no friends or family there.' And finding the right person alone, she adds, isn't easy. 'There is an information asymmetry - the person you are looking for does exist but you don't know where to find them. 'On the other hand, because you are aiming for such an ideal partner, the person who does have the qualities you are looking for might not love you back in reality.' So what advice does she give lonely hearts? In an earlier interview with CNN Travel, Gong had this tip for women: 'Don't passively wait to be contacted. Taking the initiative by sending potential mates messages shows you are serious about finding love. In a country like China with typically shy women, you will immediately stand out.' Booming: Gong's successful site signs up new users every second and has been floated on the stock market . While, for men, China's number one matchmaker recommended the following: 'In your initial message, make a specific reference to what you find attractive or interesting about the woman you are contacting. 'When she is browsing messages, yours will immediately stick out, and compliments make a great conversation starter.' And with 4.5 million marriages already under her belt and new users signing up to her website every second of every day, Gong Haiyan is one romantic mentor worth paying attention to. According to the most recent census figures, one in five Chinese women between 25 and 29 are unmarried. Dubbed 'sheng nu' or 'leftover women' in the Chinese media, is currently causing a real headache for the government because most are what journalist Huang Yuanyuan describes as 'A-quality' women. 'There is an opinion that A-quality guys will find B-quality women, B-quality guys will find C-quality women, and C-quality men will find D-quality women,' she told the BBC. 'The people left are A-quality women and D-quality men. So if you are a leftover woman, you are A-quality.' Nevertheless, according to the National Marriage Survey undertaken by the Chinese government in 2010, just one per cent of men thought it was acceptable for women to marry between the ages of 31 and 35, with the overwhelming majority - 60 per cent - saying a woman should marry before the age of 27.
September 2013 . With almost 100 million members, Gong Haiyan, the 10-year-old site is the biggest million singles on its books. Now Gong, 37, has that China is sitting on a singledom time bomb. Success story: Shanghai entrepreneur Gong Haiyan serious social problems,' she told BBC reporter told the BBC, there is a pool of 'A-quality' for men, China's number one matchmaker