Shanghai‘s “Marriage Market” Reveals Stark Realities for China’s Single Women
SHANGHAI - A British-chinese woman’s foray into Shanghai’s famed “marriage market” at People’s Square underscores the intense societal pressures faced by single women in china, where demographic shifts adn traditional expectations converge. The author, seeking both anthropological insight and personal connection, documented a landscape dominated by parental intervention and a prioritization of financial stability over romantic compatibility.
Six months after initiating a data-driven dating strategy – 100 daily Tinder swipes, 50 culls, and a filter for literacy and basic decency – the author relocated to China on sabbatical, partly to explore the experience of being a shengnu (“leftover woman”), a term used to describe unmarried women over the age of 27. while dating apps in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Shanghai yielded limited results – two to three matches a week – a friend in Shanghai encouraged her to participate in the weekend marriage market.
The market, a physical manifestation of parental matchmaking, operates as an analogue to dating apps. Parents display profiles of their children on umbrellas,listing vital statistics in a specific order: gender,age,height,salary,and the square footage of any existing property in a first-tier city.
The author’s experience was far from welcoming. After being scrutinized for her footwear by a tango instructor during lessons arranged by her friend, she ventured into People’s Square with encouragement from G, a friend described as a “formidable matriarch fluent in love, duty and European bakeries in Shanghai,” who urged her to “Go forth in the name of anthropology, discover and conquer.” Though, she found herself an outsider, with fellow participants refusing to swap partners during the tango lessons.
