Recently, one of my female friends begged me to go to bars with her. Well, I wouldn't say no to a cocktail after a busy day's work. But the weird part was we always went to the same bar.

She confessed that she had a crush on the bar's manager, Dennis. My friend is in her late twenties, fairly cute, but definitely not the drop-dead gorgeous type. Ever since she shared her little secret with me, I started to check Dennis out. He is over 40, dashing and stylish. I learned he was divorced and had a son. In conclusion, he is the typical dashu that young girls crave.

Literally, dashu means big uncle; actually it refers to mature and sophisticated men who have plenty of life experience and, most importantly, are successful and rich.

Compared to young brats, a dashu does have a lot of good points. First of all, he knows how to dress himself after years of experimenting with style. Like Dennis, he knows how to put everything together and what suits him best. There are not many elements on him; he carries the easy-chic thing effortlessly. Each piece on him is basic but good-quality.

Secondly, dashu are quite gentlemanly and considerate. I never expect that Chinese young men would hold doors or lift a suitcase for me when boarding an airplane. You have got to do it by yourself. A dashu can be very attentive and pay attention to details.

I remember I went to a bar to meet a friend, a dashu. I took off my jacket and threw it on the chair; then I went to the toilet. When I came back, dashu had already picked up my jacket and hung it on the back of the chair.

Thirdly, dashu is the man with stories. He has had failures and successes; tasted the sweetness and bitterness of life.

He won't give a pep talk to you but makes a good mentor. He loves to share with you his wisdom on wine, food, music, travel, books and life itself. He is not skin-deep.

Let's think about it. To a realistic girl in a big city, who is the ideal candidate for a good relationship? The answer is a dashu.

Just remember, rely on your substance, not just your beauty and youth.

Otherwise, when your beauty and youth pass, you'll just be another page in your dashu's book of experience.

This article was published on the Global Times Metropolitan section Two Cents page, a space for reader submissions, including opinion, humor and satire. The ideas expressed are those of the author alone, and do not represent the position of the Global Times.