CHINA TOPIX

03/29/2024 07:07:09 am

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Anxious Parents Flock to Shanghai People's Park To Seek Partners for Adult Children

People's Park

(Photo : Tai Jui-fen) Parents flock at the matchmaking corner of People's Park in Shanghai, anxious to find partners for their adult children.

Parents gather in Shanghai People’s Park every day in search for prospective partners for their adult children.

The unusual scene can be witnessed at a corner of the park, referred to as the “matchmaking corner,” where thousands of people gather. Parents carry posters of their adult children hoping to get a match for them.

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This unusual way of parents getting their children a suitable partner has been going on since 2005.

Young people in China have been unwilling to settle down, according to official data shown in Taiwan stating that 70% of young adults in the country aged 25 to 29 are unmarried. Meanwhile, data shows that an average male resident in Shanghai marries at the age of 30 while females usually marry at age 27.

Parents have been more eager to find a partner for their children even as most Chinese young adults are not in a hurry to settle down. Want Daily interviewed a 63-year old mother surnamed Li saying she has been looking to find a partner for her son. Li also said her son did not know about her search.

Parents spend 10 hours daily to conduct interviews for a possible match. Most of them talk with one another to assess if their children could be arranged for marriage. The matchmaking corner of the park becomes crowded as soon as 10 a.m.

In China, people who want to get married must have at least 2 million yuan, according to a recent Shanghai online survey. The survey also added a man should have 8,000 yuan monthly salary or higher and a house with two rooms to have a good chance of settling down.

A mother who has been looking for a husband for her daughter at the park’s matchmaking corner said she doesn’t want her to marry someone who has no money, house and car.

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