>> in the past, unmarried women over the age of 27 were labeled as leftovers. but now there are approximately 100 million single women in china, many of whom have moved to urban areas. in china's major cities, single women outnumber single men four fold. recently, businesses are targeting this single woman economy. one example is an increase i in

the number of ckaraoke boxes fo single use. this new breed of unattached women symbolizes how women can be financially independent in modern china. this episode of asia insight takes a look at theirir present and their future. >> beijing, which has the largest percentage of single women in china. she came to beijing in 2015. she grew up in a wealthy family where both her parents were company owners.

wang training at this gym twice a day, in the morning and the evening.

>> wang's home is a ten minute walk away from the gym. she has rented a family-sized apartment for $2,000 u.s. a month. the 90 square meter apartment has three roomoms, as well as a kitchen and a bathroom. initially, she thought of decorating all the rooms herself, but they have just become storage space.

the only bare area is the kitchen, which she hardly uses. wang feels most at ease in the bedroom where she works, eats and does most everything else. she used to work at a securities firm, but quit, weary of ththe volatility of the stock market.

now she meets with individual investors to get them to fund movies. she works on commission, and the returns will be good if the film is a box office success. however, if a movie fails, she will have worked for next to noththing. to survive in this business, she must find promising projects to pitch to the investors. today she's meeting an acquaintance from her time at a security's firm. this man runs a medical equipment firm. she is trying to getetim t to invest before, but he turned her down. the movie industry was too much of a mystery to him.

>> after a one-hour talk, the man decides to invest $88,000

u.s. after rebelling against her parents' wishes, she moved to beijing, 1,200 kilometers away. after hopping from one job to another, liu now works at an onlio online content production firm.

liu organizes events and releleases related content onli. today, s she is attending a meetining about a regular arrand marriage project with a sportrt gent.

liu joined this content production firm a year ago. she was head hunted while working as a freelance event planner. shshe is currently almost exclusively focussed on a project arranging marririages f elite chinese men who have studied and landed jobs overseas. she produces videos that trace their experiences and distributes them online. she hopes to make a series focussed on chinese men in many different countrieies.

>> liu lives in a shared apartment near her office. she could afford her own apartment further away, but prefers to savave time. she works most days witithout taking a any time off.

>> liu says that work is what makes life fun, as well as being her greatest reward. she has no plans to change her lifestyle in the immediate futurere. she is very close e to the sqsq. every thursday and sunday, exchange events are held here for those that are unattached. parents gathered to set up their single adult children with arranged marriages. no one is sure when this began. here most of the profiles on

display are of women. this is an event the modern bachelorettes of today would be surprised to witness. this popular block introduces a selection of eateries that welcome single women. the founder began uploading articles two years ago, and a blog has since introduced more than 50 such restaurants, detailing the best times to visit and the best places to sit. the founder is also a single woman. she is from southern china. after graduating from a local college, her parents insisted she take a teaching job nearby. instead, she chose to live and work somewhere completely new and consequently came to

beijing. to begin with, she worked at internet related firms and ad agency. two years ago she signed a contract with a small brewery and is now in charge of public relations and sales. her blog is actually a private project. shia works fromm home. her company gives her free reign to expand her sales network using her imagination. she is just obliged to report in to the company once a week. she lives in a 40-year-old

companany dormitory located in central beijing. the rentt isn't cheap,p, but sh prefers to livee herere. >> in one corner of the room are two scrolls inscribed with poems dedidicated t to lotus flowers.

>> as a child, she was always curious. unfortunately, her family were very traditional. and although she initially wanted to follow in their footsteps, over the years, her eagerness to see the world grew stroronger. shiaia is cururrently planning somewhat tongue in cheek product for china's lovers' day.

>> this rice wine was originally sold at $15 for two bottles, which means that couples got a discount. shia is battling to introduce a special price for single people. shia embarked on the new product a year ago. she opened a bar on the 11th floor of a skyscraperer. there is no shop sign. she designed the interior herself. and asked her company to develop an original liquor. the concept was to create a bar where single women could feel at home.

it's a haven for busy, single women. >> chinese legend tells of a godess who can only meet her human lover once a year. these days, restaurants and stores are full to the brim with couples on dates on lovers' day.

>> although, her bar never turns away male customers, it is popular with single women thanks to its reputation.

>> women have traditionally been forced to repress their feelings. now they long t to spread their

wings. in the past, unmarried women were berated for being left on the shelf. but now they can discover themselves and learn to shine brilliantly of their own accord. perhaps their new lifestyles will redefine what it means to be a woman in china.

ananchor: lebanon's prime minisr and government resigned over the bay report explosion but public fury is growing with a political system that has failed the country. ♪ anchor: hello. you are watching "al jazeera" live from london. serious concerns over press freedom in hong kong after jimmy lai is arresested under a controversial security law. opposition protesting elections in della reese that has returned the president to