I spent Saturday walking around Shanghai with Morgan and her friends who were visiting from the States. We wandered into People’s Park, expecting it to be similar to any other Chinese park with the requisite rock garden and artificial lake. However, we found a lot more in People’s Park than just rocks and water. There were hundreds of people in the park, holding pieces of paper and chatting with each other. Upon closer inspection the pieces of paper were personals complete with stats on sex, age, weight, height, education and job. Turns out the park turns into a forum for matchmaking on the weekends, where anxious parents concerned about their children’s single status can go meet other parents and find their son or daughter a spouse! Some were even hung up on a clothesline like minimalist public art in the park. Many parents were also armed with photo albums of their children ready to show anyone interested. Some of these kids are younger than me, still babies really (I'm sure they're probably not worried about their future prospects on the marriage mart, just their parents!).
An English professor at one of Shanghai’s universities started talking to us. Not surprisingly, educated women have it tough in China since men find them intimidating. Her daughter is getting an MBA in the States so she’s coming out here in secrecy to help her daughter “look around.” We saw lots of signs for female doctors and such. It was all so fascinating. I also think that the Chinese found it funny that we were there. Several of them thought we were there to join the party and look for a significant other too. We were shown albums of pictures from parents who told us their sons spoke good English!
I left feeling so relieved that my parents pretty much leave me alone and harbor no grand illusions of being able to find me my true love in a Park. But it does make me wonder what my parents would have said about me, what qualities they think I'd be attracted to, and what they qualities they would look for in a guy for their daughter.
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