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‘I am very sincere’: father offers nearly 20 properties in a desperate attempt to find his son a wife amid China’s huge gender imbalance. Photo: SCMP Artwork

Chinese father gives desperate unmarried son almost 20 properties to help him find a wife - triggering marriage debate in China

  • A matchmaker filmed a father showing him give almost 20 property deeds to his son and asking for help finding him a wife of ‘equal status’
  • The video has triggered explosive debate in China, with many expressing concern about the intention behind the father’s generosity

A father in China gifting his unmarried son nearly 20 properties in a bid to help him find a wife has sparked debate about why Chinese parents are so obsessive and desperate to see their children married.

The unnamed father from Hebei province in northern China made the generous gift to help his 24-year-old son find a partner and went to see a matchmaker who filmed the encounter in a video which has since spread across Chinese social media.

He said he wanted a daughter-in-law after his son went to a matchmaking corner, a public place where matchmakers congregate and parents and their single children come in the hope of finding a partner, in Hebei’s capital city Shijiazhuang.

Many younger people in China are pushing back against their parent’s determination for them to get married as soon as possible. Photo: Getty

“The father said his son is a decent man and holds a very promising job. Now he wants to look for a ‘Miss Right’ for his son,” the matchmaker named Zhang told Chinese media outlet Jimu News.

Zhang said the father brought to their meeting a bag containing the deeds to the properties he had given to his son.

Marriage on the rocks in China as women rethink their options

“How many deeds in total?” Zhang asked in a now viral video the matchmaker filmed himself.

In the video, the father opens a pink bag and replies: “Less than 20 copies. All are commercial properties that are registered on with house management bureaus.”

According to Zhang: “The father wasn’t intending to show off, but he was keen to find a daughter-in-law from a family of equal status.”

Zhang promised the father he would seek prospective women for his son and see what he could do.

The video has caused explosive debate in China, with many people expressing concern about the father’s intentions.

01:35

Chinese groom watches his own wedding on live stream

Chinese groom watches his own wedding on live stream

A few commenters praised the father’s actions, but many more questioned his motives and asked why the son needed almost 20 properties to find a wife.

“How bad is his son? Do good guys really have this much difficulty finding a girlfriend?”

“How’s this supposed to help? They are premarital property by law,” another commented.

Some asked: “Would the father add the name of his daughter-in-law to the property ownership certificates? All of the certificates?”

In February this year, China’s National Bureau of Statistics released census data for 2021. The data showed that last year the gender ratio of the country’s population was 723.11 million males to 689.49 million females.

The number of men in the traditional marriageable age range of 20 to 40 was 20 million more than that of women.

Last year China initiated a three-child policy to combat its shrinking population and unbalanced gender ratio.
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