People chat at a blind date corner in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Photo: VCG

Luanzhou in North China's Hebei Province has started a city-wide investigation into the needs of single people in responses to netizens' requests to launch activities for singles to make friends, the local authorities said on Monday.

A netizen on Saturday wrote on the city's Message Board for Leaders that the city's authorities should organize more activities for single people to help them find friends and potential dating partners due to their limited social circles currently.

The city has since made application forms for single people in which they can write basic individual information including their name, gender, age, profession, economic situation and family status, in order to build a database for singles looking to make friends.

The city's problem is not unique. The number of singles in China surpassed 200 million in 2018, according to official data. And the total number of singles living alone is expected to reach over 90 million by 2021.

Luanzhou has carried out two activities for singles this year, however, the number of participants was limited due to the epidemic, the authorities said. The city noted that one activity for singles will be carried out on Friday and it suggested netizens pay attention to related channels if they want to participate in the activity.

Other measures including setting up blind date corners, establishing connections with other clubs will also be carried out.