The Marriage Market

If you visit a certain riverside park in Shenyang on the weekend, you will see an interesting site: the marriage market. I don’t know if that’s the common name for the local people, it’s what my friends in the consulate call it.

This is what you will see when you walk through the park:

marriage market2

What are the people looking at on the ground? Resumes.

People who come to the market are mostly parents of unmarried adult children who want to get married but for whatever reason can’t find a mate. The parents are sharing their children’s resumers, and are looking at others’ resumes, trying to find a suitable partner for their child. In addition to parents, matchmakers also display their clients’ resumes.

marriage market1

One resume reads:

Looking for Marriage:

Male, born in 1983, native of Shenyang City, height 1.75 meters, master’s degree, working in city government (official capacity). Seeking female, born after 1986, prefer native of Shenyang City, over 1.62 meters tall, at least bachelor’s degree, stable job (prefer civil service job, teacher would receive preferential consideration). Telephone xxx-xxxx

Another resume for a female:

Female, born in 1980 (brief previous marriage, no children), 1.68 meters tall, working for the city government, stable job, filial to parents, easy to get along with, responsible. Looking for an ambitious man of similar age, worker or businessman. Tel: xxx-xxxx.

I saw some people pick up a resume from the ground, and immediately the owner of that resume engaged the person in a conversation, apparently discussing each other’s client’s qualifications, and exploring the potential for a relationship.

It’s kind of sad that some people are so busy with work that they can’t find a partner on their own, and have to resort to this method. On the other hand, it’s no worse than hanging out at a bar to try to find a life partner. Arranged marriages have a low divorce rate. Who knows, maybe this strategy would yield better results than a person trying to find someone on his or her own.

I also like the idea that parents are helping their kids look for someone. Presumably, parents would have their kids’ best interest at heart, and would honestly want to help them find happiness.

I don’t know if this method results in a romance or love at first sight, but in the long run, maybe those things are less important than a stable, caring relationship between two people, and long-lasting happiness?

One Comment

  1. Dottie Hoopingarner

    It seems to work in India. Do you remember the Indian exchange student at West Catholic whose parents had already picked out a wife for him? Still, I think it is better to pick your own, even if divorce is a possibility.

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