Shanghai, China’s Marriage Market

Arranged marriages are something that have played a prominent role in many cultures throughout time.  Back in the day, finding someone to share your life with was more of a practical problem.  In fact, the concept of marriage for love’s sake is fairly recent, despite what many historical novels and movies try to portray.  It was just simpler and more effective to have the parents arrange something with someone eligible than to try the old trial-and-error method.  If statistics are to be believed, arranged marriages even have a higher rate of success than marriage for love.

Of course, now that we have the Internet and its plethora of dating sites, we can shop around all we want.  Some in the Chinese city of Shanghai, however, prefer to stick to the old-school approach.  Every Saturday and Sunday, from noon until 5 p.m., the Shanghai Marriage Market comes alive as parent swarm about, trying to find the perfect match for their young ones.

This market is like one giant notice board combined with a stock exchange sales floor.  One can either look around at the many posted letters to see if he or she fits the bill, or mill about chatting with other parents who are trying to find eligible people that match the necessary criteria.  Sometimes, parents hit up the Marriage Market without even talking to their children about it.

Requirements for meet-ups generally follow a pretty standard format.  Height, weight, age, salary and education are all necessary bits of information.  Sometimes a person’s requirements can be quite specific, such as only wanting to meet people born in a specific year or within a height range of a few inches.  If you thought OkCupid users were picky, they’ve got nothing on these doting parents.

Being as how the Marriage Market is so popular, some have taken it as an opportunity to provide services and make a few bucks.  Matchmakers roam the market, offering to take on the duties of finding proper dates.  If two people seem like they fit each other’s bill, then the parents will generally meet up and discuss a possible arrangement.

The question is, of course, does all this analyzing of mating statistics work?  One cynical girl decided to try it for herself and chose to write about her experience.  Although her requirements were mostly a joke (including telling people that she was lazy and couldn't cook), she still managed to attract more than enough potential men.  I think the lesson here is that men are all-too-willing to lower their standards for a date.

As for the parents, some of them who have been going it for a while are not so optimistic, particularly when looking for a woman on behalf of a man.  In a country that boasts a male surplus of around 20 million, it’s no wonder the girls got the best deal here.

I’m not sure if tourists are allowed to come in and try to hook up or not.  Still, if you happen to be in Shanghai and need to find a wife quick, you may find the Marriage Market to be better than online dating.  And no, you aren't required to bring your parents along to negotiate for you, although you may need an interpreter.

Marriage Market photo courtesy of ohiseered.com