The games people play

A wave of loneliness among young middle-class men saw the emergence of 'pickup artists' who teach lovelorn bachelors a variety of techniques to attract women. Now, the phenomenon may be on the wane, as Xu Wei reports.

Ze Xin (not his real name) felt as though he'd been brainwashed after attending a five-day workshop held by a number of "pickup artists". At the time, Ze was trying to heal the wounds left by a failed relationship during which he "did virtually everything I could to make the girl happy", but was still ditched.

"It was about a total overhaul of your values, your understanding of love. I felt as though I had been utterly stupid in the past," Ze said, adding that the thing he disliked most about the course was the requirement to post selfies of himself with pretty girls on social media.