Why young Chinese women won’t be rushed into marriage
To mark the festival of Qixi, also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day, a veteran Beijing matchmaker describes how the landscape has shifted in the four decades he has been helping couples tie the knot
Flicking through the files he keeps on dozens of Chinese singles Zhu Fang, one of Beijing’s leading matchmakers, points to an alarming trend he has noticed in recent years: he now has far more single women on his books than men.
While the men on his books usually get snapped up relatively quickly, the 74-year-old says it can be harder to women to find a suitable match.
Zhu, whose flat is lined with photos of young singles, says he currently has files for 70 single women, but only 27 men.
Speaking to the South China Morning Post ahead of Friday’s festival of Qixi, also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day, Zhu reflected on the changing nature of love and romance in the four decades he has been operating.
“Finding partners is getting more difficult for these young women even though it is easier to get to meet people these days,” Zhu said.
“It was easier before because people cared more about the other’s moral standards and less about what they did for a living.”