Singling out a lifestyle

"Thanks to the photo project, I have had so many opportunities to talk with women from different backgrounds and at different ages. There have been many touching moments when I hoped that there had been a camera recording. I was not satisfied with photos-I wanted more," Dai says, explaining why she made the documentary.

She says that, through her lens, she doesn't want to glorify the single lifestyle, or trigger anxiety, but simply wants to record the real status of women.

"How to understand love and deal with intimate relationships has been an issue for people in the digital era. I want to build a mirror, which can reflect how I enter a stranger's life and get on with them," Dai says, adding that no matter how technology changes communication, face-to-face interaction still matters, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The documentary has been rated 9.1 points and garnered more than 2.24 million views on Tencent Video. A viewer named Zhang Laodong comments that living alone doesn't necessarily mean boredom and loneliness. It's more about freedom of choice after becoming financially independent, self-reflection and the ability to follow the heart.