Video: Shanghai Marriage Market: Thousands of Dating Announcements
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The question of how to get married worries many: some look for destiny on dating sites, others turn to special marriage agencies, others rely on matchmakers, and still others fill out the questionnaires of the popular show “Let's Get Married”. But the Chinese have come up with another original way: every weekend, Shanghai residents go to the central park to read the advertisements posted here from potential brides and grooms. Parents often "advertise" their children, and they also choose candidates for life partners.
The Chinese approach the issue of marriage pragmatically: the most important information about appearance and income level is indicated in the questionnaire. Age, zodiac sign according to the Chinese calendar, height, weight, education, salary, car and apartment - that's what they write most often. Parents communicate with each other, looking for a pair for their child, and only after that a guy and a girl can see each other.
Despite the fact that in China, for a long time, young people have the right to independently choose their life partner, many parents still feel responsible for the fate of their children. Often moms and dads notice that their grown-up daughter or son is too busy with work, or that they are not actively engaged in their personal life, and then they go in search. Young people are not always happy with such an initiative, but representatives of the older generation are sure that this is the only way to arrange their fate, while remaining faithful to the traditions in modern China.
Today, the Chinese, like most Europeans, do not strive for early marriages; before the age of 30, they prefer to build a career. Girls try to get a good education in order to find their place in life, to be successful, to compete with men in the professional sphere.
One of the problems in China is the birth control program, which requires only one child per family. According to sociologists, by 2020 there will be about 24 million unmarried men in the country who will not be able to find wives. In comparison, this number of men will exceed the current female population of Taiwan and South Korea combined. True, the ads in the Shanghai park indicate that it is not easy for girls to get married, many of them are looking for the man of their dreams.
It is noteworthy that in China there are several such "marriage markets" located in the open air. Even considering that it works weekly and thousands of parents come here, many spend months and even years looking for a future son-in-law or daughter-in-law.
By the way, on the site Kulturologiya. RF we have already talked about another unusual "marriage" tradition - Chinese girls "for rent". Really, an amazing country!
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