Students hook up at a mass dating event in Hefei, Anhui Province, on November 9. Photo: IC

A massive blind date event that saw thousands of university student singles in East China's Anhui Province last week was met with some finger-wagging on social media.

On Saturday night, around 5,000 locally-enrolled students gathered at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei for "Beautiful Encounter." 

The cross-school event aimed to help young men studying at male-heavy polytechnic universities connect with eligible bachelorettes at different schools, organizers said.

Long lines of students gathered on the campus athletic field to enter the event. Once inside, students took part in games designed to help break the ice and were given chances to show off a special talent or give a quick dating pitch.

An annual event since 2003, Beautiful Encounter has been generally well received by university students in Hefei, read the report.

While some supported the event on social media, others felt that college students are too young for blind dates. 

"[College students] ... still have no idea about the pressures they will face. Since they are unprepared to start a family, blind dating at such an early stage is irresponsible," wrote a Net user. The comment garnered over 600 likes.

Supporters countered on Sina Weibo saying that most participants were older grad students.

cnr.cn