217:, many of them remained single into their thirties, when they returned to their home cities. The state had to intervene in the dating scene to solve this problem of “overaged youth”. Another source of parental anxiety is an overarching sense of volatility and insecurity since market-era economic reforms in China. Parents worry about their children's financial stability in a fast-paced, expensive urban center like Shanghai, especially without a robust social welfare system that provides housing and security. As such, these parents are worried that their only children will grow up leading difficult lives and having unhappy marriages. The marriage market is an outlet for parents to share their private worries in a public space, something that traditional Chinese culture deems inappropriate in other settings. Therefore, the market's primary function is to create social gatherings for seniors to share their collective worries in the changing environment of urban Shanghai.
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where parents can post their children's posters. Some sub-zones are divided by birth year, such as the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s zones. Others include the overseas zone, “New
Shanghainese” zone, divorcee zone, Muslim zone, and regional zones. In the amateur matchmaker zone, professional or voluntary matchmakers share lists of potential candidates to parents attending the market. There are professional matchmakers in the market who charge a consultation fee of RMB 100-200 for females and no fee for males. This discrepancy is said to be due to the surplus of females in the marriage market. According to local media reports, these professional matchmakers are often tricksters who disappear after receiving fees from parents.
100:, and personality. Seniors born between the 1950s and 1960s tend to be the vendors at the marriage market. These seniors advertise their unmarried children born anywhere from the 1970s to 1990s in the market. All of this information is written on a piece of paper, which is then hung up on long strings among other parents' advertisements for their children. Advertisements are also attached to paper bags, clipped to trees, taped on umbrellas, or laid on the ground across People's Park. The parents walk around chatting with other parents to see if there is a harmonious fit only after their children's standards are met.
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There are two main zones in the marriage market: the free zone and the amateur matchmaking zone. The free zone is where concerned parents look for potential partners for their sons or daughters. There are also some seniors looking for their own partners. Within the free zone, there are many sub-zones
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Zhongshan Park, 80% of parents are looking for husbands for their single daughters. The majority of participants in the markets are young, college-educated women who work professional jobs and grew up in
Shanghai. These urban daughters represent China's new middle class but are often categorized as
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While there are no formal requirements for one to be advertised in the market, certain traits are deemed more desirable. For women, younger age, attractive physical appearance, good education, and docile temperament are sought after. For men, it is important to have a higher educational level, a
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The
Shanghai Marriage Market is also a response to the rapid individualization in China since the market reform era. The opening of markets and the state's withdrawal from many social services created a need for greater socialization, particularly for seniors from that generation. Therefore, the
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Ethnographic research has been conducted to study parent's motivations for attending the
Shanghai Marriage Market. Paradoxically, Shanghai Marriage Market has a low success rate and most parents concede that it is unlikely to find a match, yet parents regularly return to the market to continue
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These marriage markets do not have a formal organizer; typically, seniors living in the area gather voluntarily. Nonetheless, marriage markets tend to share similar characteristics. Firstly, sex ratios generally favor men, despite demographically having a surplus of men in China. In
Beijing's
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In many parents' eyes, parent matchmaking gatherings such as the
Shanghai Marriage Market are the only way to uphold a traditional dating style for their children in modern China. China's long idealized tradition of continuing their family lineage is very important within
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The marriage market at People's Square has existed since 2004. As of April 2013, it cost approximately US$ 3.20 for an advertisement that is displayed for five months, and marriage brokers provide full access to phone numbers for a $ 16.00 registration fee.
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advertising their children. One study explained that the market responds to the collective anxieties of
Chinese society, especially those born in the 1950s and 1960s. This generation of seniors are parents of the only-child generation who grew up as
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The primary goal of attending the
Shanghai marriage market is for parents to find a suitable partner for their child. The standards of finding the right match may be based upon (but not limited to) age, height, job, income, education, family values,
190:" in these marriage markets. Parents adopt a range of strategies to market their children, such as having good customer service and negotiation skills, designing posters carefully, and dressing well to signify good upbringing.
153:. Retirees who frequented the park for morning exercise found in conversation that many of them had unmarried children in their mid-to-late twenties. Anxious to marry off their children, the seniors began to hold
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events where they presented information about their children and looked for potential matches. Since then, parks in major cities like
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good career, and a high income. Men are also expected to own an apartment and a car. Having
Shanghai household registration record (
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start to become of typical marriage age, marriage opportunities have wavered in stability, particularly for males in China. The
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of unmarried adults gather in the park every
Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. to trade information on their children.
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Wong, Wei Mei (January 1, 2016). "Past matchmaking norms and their influence on contemporary marriage markets in China".
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569:""Devalued" Daughters Versus "Appreciated" Sons: Gender Inequality in China's Parent-Organized Matchmaking Markets"
415:"5 "When Are You Going to Get Married?" Parental Matchmaking and Middle-Class Women in Contemporary Urban China"
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predicts that by the year 2020, 24 million men in China will be unmarried and unable to find a wife.
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512:"Modern Day Arranged Marriages: The Chinese Program Visits a Marriage Market in Shanghai"
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market counters social anxieties arising from marketization and commodification.
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392:'Who will marry my daughter?' Shanghai's marriage market and 'Baifaxiangqin'
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Other motivations for going to marriage markets include an emphasis on
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637:"In China today, there are 20 million men who cannot find a bride"
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538:"Shanghai's marriage market: Bridal bliss or marital mayhem?"
421:, Stanford University Press, pp. 118–144, 2020-12-31,
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The first organized marriage market appeared in 2004 in
357:"What's it like inside Shanghai's 'Marriage Market'?"
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622:"Day Eight: A visit to Shanghai's marriage market"
469:Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford
717:"Shanghai's "Marriage Market" at People's Park"
329:"Finding a spouse in a Chinese marriage market"
200:) is immensely important for all participants.
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668:"NZ women put hopes in Chinese dating show"
295:"Shanghai Marriage Market in People's Park"
204:Scholarship on the Shanghai Marriage Market
177:have become unofficial matchmaking venues.
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16:Matchmaking market in Shanghai, China
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652:"In pictures: China spouse market"
536:Warner, David (11 February 2010).
492:"A Marriage Made in the City Park"
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91:Advertising notices at the market
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293:He, Catherine (April 24, 2023).
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682:Hill, Andrew (April 26, 2013).
567:Gui, Tianhan (September 2017).
213:. In order to keep their urban
666:Deng, Kajia (April 27, 2013).
111:Umbrellas used for advertising
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620:Ryssdal, Kai (June 6, 2011).
327:Tacon, Dave (April 6, 2013).
46:Rénmín Gōngyuán Xiāngqīn Jiǎo
748:2004 establishments in China
490:Yang, Yijun (May 30, 2011).
181:Patterns in marriage markets
768:Marriage in Chinese culture
419:Wives, Husbands, and Lovers
396:China Social Sciences Press
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793:Huangpu District, Shanghai
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427:10.1515/9780804791854-008
136:Marriage markets in China
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732:Shanghai marriage market
684:"The Diary: Andrew Hill"
654:. BBC News. May 26, 2009
587:10.1177/0192513X16680012
574:Journal of Family Issues
274:Marriage in Modern China
29:Shanghai Marriage Market
624:. American Public Media
215:household registrations
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390:Sun, Peidong (2012).
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734:at Wikimedia Commons
758:Culture in Shanghai
355:Bolsover, Gillian.
98:Chinese zodiac sign
55:'People's Park
783:Sexuality in China
763:Events in Shanghai
299:Travel China Guide
130:University of Kent
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59:corner') is a
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23:The market in 2013
798:Women in Shanghai
753:Arranged marriage
730:Media related to
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686:. Financial Times
639:. Colors Magazine
581:(13): 1923–1948.
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394:. Beijing:
269:Singles Day
155:matchmaking
742:Categories
690:2013-05-13
674:2013-05-13
658:2013-05-13
643:2013-05-13
628:2013-05-13
543:CNN Travel
522:2022-02-05
450:2021-05-09
362:CNN Travel
338:2013-05-13
333:Al Jazeera
304:2023-09-08
280:References
57:blind date
603:151393345
595:0192-513X
445:127848326
549:10 April
368:10 April
232:See also
226:homogamy
167:Shenzhen
163:Shanghai
159:Hangzhou
83:Overview
69:Shanghai
63:held at
171:Tianjin
151:Beijing
141:History
77:Parents
37:人民公园相亲角
33:Chinese
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173:, and
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41:pinyin
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599:S2CID
441:S2CID
197:hukou
175:Wuhan
73:China
591:ISSN
551:2012
476:(3).
431:ISBN
370:2012
52:lit.
27:The
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