Parents play match-makers at Beijing’s parks

This father is seeking a worthy girlfriend for his son at Zhongshan Park. The piece of paper reads "38-year-old single man, home owner, 178 cm, Beijing hukou (a Beijing resident permit), engineer at a Beijing-based foreign company, computer science degree, highly educated family”

Parents of unmarried women in Beijing have been busy marketing their daughters in local parks, in spite of the cold weather, hoping to help their children find that special someone.

Yuyuantan Park, Taoranting Park and Zhongshan Park are famous among the parents of the city’s singles.

And many carry hand-made cards carrying basic information about their offspring as they try to find parents with children considered a good match.

But while the parks are open to all, around 90 percent of the personal ads are for single women, aged between 23 and 40.

Deng, who visits the parks regularly in a bid to find a good partner for his 33-year-old son, said he holds back on sharing his son’s information because so many single women are desperate to find a life-partner.
“Once I put out my son’s information, those parents who are eager to marry their daughters off will ask for a date. It’s impolite to refuse them.”

“So I choose to hide my son from the crowd,” Deng said.

Another father, surnamed Sun, said he also rarely shows his son’s information.

“I only talk to those who are suitable for my son. The one great advantage of this kind of parents’ matchmaking event is that you get to see the parents directly.

“Marriage is the most important step for anyone. So the other family’s background matters,” Sun said.
“Sometimes, I don’t like the parents after talking to them and I will make up some of my son’s information, saying he is divorced, so the women’s parents will run away.”

A mother, named He Mei, held up a framed personal advertisement in Yuyuantan Park reading: “Single woman, born in 1983, 164-cm-tall, masters degree from the UK, currently working as an interpreter in a foreign company in Beijing”.

“I’m really worried,” she said. “My daughter is pushing toward her 30s. She has a busy job and a limited number of acquaintances.”

“I really hope she can get married before 28 and have a baby before 30.

“We don’t have high standards. We just want to find a reliable man for her.”

The latest statistics from the Committee of Matchmaking Service Industries under the China Association of Social Workers show there are around three million single people in Beijing who are older than 18.

Xiang Jianxi, the committee’s spokesman, said single women are considered old at 28.

“The number of single people in Beijing and other major cities in China is much higher than in small cities because people here are under more pressure and have higher standards when finding their life-partners,” Xiang said.

“But age is not a disadvantage for men, which makes it harder for women to find a suitable match in Beijing.”