Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All China Shanghai Shanghai Marriage Market

Shanghai Marriage Market

A son-and-daughter meat market, hawked by mom and dad.

Shanghai, China

Added By
Alicia
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  http://www.datelineshanghai.com/shanghai-m...
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Gillian Bolsover
  Gillian Bolsover
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Residents of China's largest city face a conundrum in finding love and marriage.

An increase in the busy schedules of young adults, a discrepancy between male and female populations created by China's one-child policy, and the social pressure to marry before one is thirty puts a tricky timestamp on young Shanghainese. Many of them just don't have time to deal with it.

But their parents do.

Started in 1996, Shanghai's so-called Marriage Market allows parents to advertise their lovelorn children in low-tech, ink-and-paper dating profiles. Posting their children's educational statistics, work history, age and other demographics, parents try to match their children with partners worthy of them. Of course, parents are picky in choosing mates for their children, who are certainly imbued with supernatural greatness. As a result, parents often post too-demanding achievements, including exorbitant earnings, and exceptional good looks. Needless to say, not everybody finds dates.

The Marriage Market hearkens back to a more traditional time when parents arranged their children's marriages. At the Market, like in traditional Chinese dating cultures, parents often meet each other before the dating couple does. In quickly modernizing China, traditions are often discarded.

Nothing is more indicative of this trend than the younger generation's views about marriage. Children are often uncomfortable with their parents meddling in their love affairs, but they usually don't need to worry about their parents' success. Although the market has become hugely popular--drawing more than 1000 people each weekend day-- most parents have to return, month after month, year after year.

These parents' concerns aren't without merit, however. In a society where singleness after thirty is hugely stigmatized, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences estimates that more than 24 million Chinese men will be single in 2020. Perhaps the Marriage Market gives moms and pops some agency in saving their sons--and in a few cases, daughters-- from this fate.

Related Tags

Rites And Rituals

Community Contributors

Added By

Alicia Bones

Edited By

Collector of Experiences

  • Collector of Experiences

Published

November 13, 2012

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.datelineshanghai.com/shanghai-marriage-market/
  • http://shanghaipathways.com/2012/02/07/chinese-mating-ritual-explore-shanghais-marriage-market/
  • http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/a-walk-through-shanghais-marriage-market.html
Shanghai Marriage Market
People's Square
Wusheng Road, Huangpu
Shanghai
China
31.232277, 121.47321
Get Directions

Nearby Places

1930 Folk Street

Shanghai, China

miles away

Scale Model of Shanghai

Shanghai, China

miles away

Shanghai Natural History Museum

Shanghai, China

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Shanghai

Shanghai

China

Places 31
Stories 3

Nearby Places

1930 Folk Street

Shanghai, China

miles away

Scale Model of Shanghai

Shanghai, China

miles away

Shanghai Natural History Museum

Shanghai, China

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Shanghai

Shanghai

China

Places 31
Stories 3

Related Stories and Lists

Ian McKellen Spotted at Shanghai's Marriage Market

news

By Eric Grundhauser

Related Places

  • The surviving shrine of Hwangudan.

    Seoul, South Korea

    Hwangudan

    The site where the Emperor of Korea performed the long-forbidden "rite of heaven" to demonstrate his absolute sovereignty.

  • Temple at Camp Etna

    Etna, Maine

    Camp Etna

    A major spiritual gathering place in central Maine since the mid-1800s.

  • Toguz Toro, Kyrgyzstan

    Saimaluu Tash

    These oldest of these "embroidered stones" were carved 4,000 years ago in a high mountain valley.

  • Interior of the church.

    Naples, Italy

    Church of Santa Luciella ai Librai

    An unusual "skull with ears" sits in the crypt of this small church tucked away at the end of a narrow alley.

  • San Michele Arcangelo Hypogeum.

    Torre del Greco, Italy

    San Michele Arcangelo Hypogeum

    The old church, buried by the 1784 Mount Vesuvius eruption, is a remarkably well-preserved place where people now pray for the souls of the dead.

  • Tateishi Sama.

    Tokyo, Japan

    Tateishi-sama

    This tiny stone in a children's park is what remains of an ancient, once-worshipped object.

  • The Chief Warden’s lantern and Queen Elizabeth’s keys.

    London, England

    Tower of London's Ceremony of the Keys

    The ritual has been performed uninterrupted for nearly 700 years.

  • Witch carving in the woods leading to the Witches’ Dance Floor.

    Thale, Germany

    Hexentanzplatz (Witches' Dance Floor)

    This enchanting mountain plateau celebrates spooky local folklore.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.