Due to changing views about marriage and parenthood among China's younger generation and the country's serious gender imbalance, a growing number of men are seeking the company of lifelike dolls, instead of real relationships.

Bob (pseudonym) introduces his dolls to the Global Times reporter during an interview on October 26 in his home in Haidian district, Beijing.Photo: Li Hao/GT

When Mathilda knocked on Léon's door in Professional, a 1994 thriller film, Léon's solitary life was forever changed. For 32-year-old Bob (pseudonym), Xiao Ying, a 145-centimeter silicone doll, is his Mathilda. She filled his empty heart and rejuvenated his life the moment she was delivered to his doorway.

Bob bought Xiao Ying two months after breaking up with his last girlfriend, and he treats "her" as if "she" were his "daughter."

"I have a hole in my heart that needs to be filled," he said while sitting in his apartment in Beijing's Haidian district.

On the day of his interview with the Global Times, he dressed Xiao Ying like a high school student. In addition to a red school uniform, the blonde doll wore a pair of glasses as she lolled on the couch.

"It's impossible to find such a beauty in the real world that can be as beautiful as her," he said.

Bob, a Beijing local and part-time game designer, is not alone in seeking the company of dolls instead of real people. A search of baidu.com reveals numerous forums where tens of thousands of doll aficionados gather and exchange their experiences.

Wu Xingliang, marketing director of the silicone doll company Exdoll, told the Global Times that "there are an increasing number of Chinese people buying silicone dolls in recent years."

The popularity of lifelike dolls is in part due to the influence of Japanese otaku culture and changing attitudes toward marriage and fertility among the younger generation, he added.

Easier than real women

Apart from Xiao Ying, Bob also has another doll he acquired from his friend named Xiao Yue. Xiao Yue is "a friend's child," according to Bob.

The 145-centimeter doll weighs over 10 kilograms. Carrying it consumes so much energy that Bob said playing with dolls is the same as working out in the gym.

Usually twice a month, he bathes the doll and sprinkles baby powder all over its body. As the dolls are unable to stand up for a long period of time, most of the time he positions the dolls on the window by his bed. "I talk to her all the time in my mind," he said.

According to Bob, he reconstructs events that happened to him and his girlfriend with Xiao Ying. "I kept thinking if the same things happen to me and my daughter, will I take a different approach?" he said.

Bob had a three-year relationship with his ex but the girl broke up with him and went back to her hometown last year.

After the breakup, Bob had a blind date with a Beijing girl, but the relationship soured after the woman refused to accept his "daughter."

Unlike a real person, Xiao Ying can never react negatively to Bob's words and can never argue with him. "Dealing with dolls is much easier than dealing with a real woman," he said.

Li Chen is well-known in the human-like doll circle as he can make changes to the dolls so that they move more like humans.

Li divorced his wife, who was 18 years younger than him, 12 years ago, because she was a gambling addict.

When the 58-year-old father later tried to form a new family, he found out that women of his age are "too scheming" and he didn't want his son to "suffer." So he gave up the idea.

In 2014, he bought his first doll. In Li's home in Guizhou Province, there is a room especially for his dolls. He has spent a small fortune on doll clothes. More expensive outfits can cost up to 3,000 yuan ($448), according to Li.

"I used to think raising dolls was cheaper than raising women. But now I think I was wrong," he told the Global Times.

"Unlike human beings who pick clothes according to their own natural conditions, the dolls are so beautiful and they can exhibit their beauty in every kind of uniform. So I can't help but keep buying different kinds of clothes for them," he said.

Playing with dolls gave Li a second life. He once planned to marry his young girlfriend who is in her 20s. But after she went to a big city to work, she was attracted to the city life and decided to halt their marriage plan.

"Compared with women, dolls are more reliable and they will never betray you," he said.