A course on relationships is being offered for the first time this semester at Wuhan Polytechnic University, becoming an instant hit on campus.
Over a thousand students vied for one of the 80 slots in the course, many choosing to audit it in the end. The class covers topics like affection and mutual attraction, input and rewards in a relationship, and sex, conflict and violence.
"Relationships and marriages need to be taken good care of," said the course's teacher Zou Fengmei, who is also a psychological counselor at the school.
Zou discovered in her work with students that many of them do not take their relationship seriously, some even considering it a game. She decided to offer the course to help students have healthy relationships and make them think about long-term commitment.
This is not the first time that a Chinese university has offered a course on dating.
A "Love and Psychology of College Students" course that concentrates on mental health has been offered by Harbin Institute of Technology for 12 years, while Wuhan University has offered a class on reproductive health and abuse.
Despite schools' intentions, students have different attitudes about the value of such courses.
"When I have personal problems, what I need desperately is to divert my focus and talk to my friends, not a course which can't solve my individual problems," said a senior from Dalian Nationalities University.
"There are always misunderstandings in a relationship. Communicating directly with your lover is the most effective approach," said Xiao Lei from the Northeast Forestry University. Having recently suffered a breakup, Xiao hopes that he could learn how to maintain a long-distance relationship as well as necessary reproductive knowledge.
