Money can't buy you love, but in modern China it can bring you the pick of 50,000 of China's prettiest girls after one of the country's largest online dating agencies held a competition to find the perfect match for 18 of its dollar-millionaire members。

　　The competition has attracted huge attention in China where online dating is becoming one of the internet's fastest-growing and most competitive industries, expected to be worth 120 million pounds this year。

　　Hopefuls from as far afield as Vancouver, Singapore, New York and Paris flew in to China last weekend to join local girls in the first round of auditions which saw an initial selection of 2,600 successful applicants being assessed on the basis of their weight, education and age. The group of 2,600 had now been whittled down to 130 women who would enter a final round next month, with the lucky 18 finalists attending a party with their potential matches。

　　The identity of the millionaires has been kept secret, but their average age is 38 and all have self-made fortunes from a range of industries including textiles, finance and China's booming property market. The men had all proved their financial bona fides by producing ownership documents for luxury villas, limousines, sports cars and private planes. A financier from Shenzhen promised to a Porsche to whichever woman proved herself a worthy match。

　　The brazen nature of such dating competitions, has raised concerns in China about society's obsession with money and the extreme commoditizing of sex and relationships。

　　Earlier this year one female contestant on a television dating show caused an online outcry when she flippantly remarked that she would "rather be crying in the backseat of BMW than smiling on the back of a bicycle"。

　　China's much more conservative older generation have compared the search for millionaire's wives to the selection of imperial concubines in ancient times, with the new super-rich elite substituting for the old imperial family。

　　英国《每日电讯报》报道：中国网站为百万富翁征婚。钱买不来爱情，但在今天的中国却可以让你在5万名最漂亮的女孩子里挑选：中国一家网上征婚机构在为18名有着数百万美元资产的富人征选佳偶。

　　这场征婚在中国引起巨大关注。如今，网上征婚成为增长最快、竞争性最强的行业之一，预计今年网上婚恋市场总收入将达1.2亿英镑。

　　远自温哥华、新加坡、纽约和巴黎的候选者上周末飞到中国，与本地女孩一起参加首轮面试。在这轮面试中，2600名申请者经过体重、学历和年龄等环节筛选到130人，她们将于下个月进入最后一轮。而最终将有18位入选者有幸与18位富豪共同出席派对。

　　征婚富豪的身份尚未公开，但平均年龄38岁。据悉，他们都是白手起家，从事的领域包括纺织、金融和房地产。这些男子都提供了豪宅、名车或私人飞机等物品的所有权文件，证明自己财产的真实性。一名来自深圳的金融家承诺，只要哪位女性证明自己是相称的结婚对象，他就送一辆保时捷。

　　这类相亲竞赛、包括电视台类似节目的厚颜无耻在中国引发忧虑：人们担心，这个社会对金钱过度痴迷，性和恋情则被极端商品化。

　　今年早些时候在某类似的相亲节目上，一个女参赛选手曾轻率而言“宁愿在宝马里哭也不在自行车后座上笑”。

　　中国保守的老一代把富豪选妻比作古代皇帝选妃，新的超级富豪就相当于过去的皇族。