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While dating TV shows and matchmaking websites proliferate, parents- often more worried about their children's marriages than theirkids are - still prefer parks as hunting grounds for findingspouses. Many parks are packed with parents holding up signs advertisingtheir children's basic information for other parents to see. It's like a marriage market. Parents elbow their way through crowdsof "shoppers", scanning the signs and selecting some to ask about,as if they were picking vegetables at a store. Sometimes, they leave with up to five phone numbers. Other times,they go home empty-handed. Different parks attract different demographics. Zhongshan Park inBeijing is a congregation spot for parents of well-educated,white-collar workers and elites who work overseas. Blue-collartypes often gather in Tiantan Park. Zhu Lijuan has visited Zhongshan Park every Sunday for six years tofind a wife for her 45-year-old son, who works in the UnitedStates. The 76-year-old's son, who only returns to China a fewtimes a year, doesn't know his mother shops around for him. "He wouldn't agree with it," Zhu says. "He doesn't worry about getting married and doesn't know howworried I am." While she hasn't found a wife for her son, she has made manyfriends. Some even hold her sign for her when she can't go to thepark. "More parents are showing up, but fewer matches are being made,"she says. Qu Nan is perhaps an exception in this "market", in that he has cutout the "middle man". The 35-year-old personally visits Zhongshanevery Sunday to find a girlfriend. He has met several women in thepast two years, but their relationships never lasted longer than amonth. "Women are too practical," he says. "And the parents only judge men's success - not theirpersonalities." Retired reporter Li Zhang has visited Zhongshan's "marriage market"for about three months to find a husband for his daughter, who's41. The 77-year-old explains most parents are searching for grooms fordaughters who are older than 35. Zhu Lijuan believes employers are responsible for their children'ssituations. "In my day, a textile factory where most workers werewomen would host social activities with another factory that hadmore men to enable employees to meet potential partners," Zhurecalls. "Now, employers only care about how much money their employees canmake for them." Shanghai has the oldest average ages for marriage - 31 for men and29 for women. Next are Beijing and Guangdong's provincial capitalGuangzhou. The average marriage age for women has increased by four years overthe past decade. Many young people, especially women, who are planning to marrywithin five years, are worried about their futures. Li Yatong is among them. "Many of my friends don't have boyfriends,like me. But I don't want my parents to become regular parkvisitors," the 22-year-old says. I am an expert from softenerflakes.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Formaldehyde-free Fixing Agent , China Cationic Softener Flakes, Amino Silicone,and more.
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