TÀI MÁNG LE (TOO BUSY)

CHINA

TĂ€I MĂ NG LE (TOO BUSY)

China - A new type of social event is taking the People Republic by storm.

Relatives of busy single people meet to find their loved ones a partner.

Zhongshan Park, Beijing. A man is displaying an ad attached to his jacket.

TÀI MÁNG LE (TOO BUSY)

Z

hongshan Park is a place of haven.

Tucked between the Forbidden City and the hordes of tourists in Tiananmen Square, it offers a peaceful retreat inside Beijing’s first ring. However its serenity is disturbed each Thursday and Sunday as a crowd of people gather to match make their offspring.

Mothers, fathers, relatives and even agents meet to screen potential partners for their young singletons. Makeshift displays are erected describing their child’s height, age, education profession and sometime earnings. Parties exchange pictures if there is a possible match.

In cities, most parents have only one child as the result of the One Child policy created in 1979 as an effort to curb the country’s burgeoning population. Nearly every Chinese person born after 1980 in an urban environment is an only child. Still in

place today, the future generation of only child spouses will find themselves in the curious position of being able to have more than one child to prevent population decline.

For the 100 million only children in China, the pressure to marry is immense. Parents, rely on their only child or “little emperor” to look after them as they get older.

However, for a growing number of Chinese in their twenties, their parental responsibility extends to finding a partner to ensure this can take place. Almost all of these singletons have something in common. They do not have the time and are too busy to look for a partner. This often leaves parents, to seek matches for them, willingly or not. The story is often repeated, someone has a job that requires long hours, he or she is simply tài máng le, too busy, to find love.

Zhongshan Park, Beijing. The calm is interrupted by gatherings every Tuesday and Sunday afternoons.

Chinese society is quickly evolving too.

‘The standards people require of a partner have changed with modern dating; the importance placed on material factors is increasing,’ says Zhai Zhenwu, vice director of the school of sociology and population studies at Renmin University in Beijing. ‘An apartment is now commonly required to broker a marriage. If a man doesn’t own an apartment, it’s an obstacle for him, even if he loves his girlfriend very much.’

Consequently, the parents of boys forgo holidays and luxuries to ensure this modern take on the dowry.

Another side effect of birth rates control is a lack of young women. This is a result of the skewed rate of “preferred” baby boys born meaning an estimated 30 to 50 million men will be without a wife in 20 years. However, this is not reflected

at Zhongshan Park, with many anxious fathers looking to pair up their daughters before they become “too old”. Being left on the shelf in modern China feels like an anathema, despite the fact the parents are creating very short sell-by dates.

Matchmaking gatherings are not an isolated case in the illustration of China’s growing social challenges and many big Chinese cities have seen the emergence of similar events in the last years.

Top : A couple is looking at photographs of a potential partner for their son.

A man is carrying an ad for his 29 year old son, Beijing resident, who works in governmental institution, has a stable income, is honest and optimistic with a bachelor’s degree. He would like to find a woman also resident in Beijing who is about 170cm, not divorced, with a stable job, honest and virtuous.

Top : This ad is for a woman living in Beijing, 162cm, born in September 1984, graduated with a master’s degree and works for a governmental public institutions. She is looking for a man, at least 170cm, with a bachelor’s degree or above and with a good personality and a stable income.

Below, a woman holds an ad for a relative who works in brand marketing strategy and graphic design, who has a house in Chaoyang District and whose parents are retired.

A man is wearing an piece of fabric on which several ads are written including one for a woman who has graduated with an associate degree, is 165cm tall and works as a freelancer. She is originally from the Shunyi district,family burdens free, ( a paraphrase for healthy parents or parents passed away or no younger siblings).

Above : Mr. Zhao, a Beijinger, is showing a photograph of him playing the violin. He came to the park to find a woman and carries his own ad: He is 43, 170cm tall and is divorced without children. His advert reads that he owns two apartments, each of them has three bedrooms. He works as a translator/interpreter in foreign affairs department for the government and graduated from Beijing International Studies University. Mr Zhao has served many foreign heads of state and United Nations former Secretary General as interpreter. (He) will soon publish a book called “Road to Success� (Cheng Cai Zhi Lu) both in Chinese and English version. He has a fit body, good image and nice characteristics with decent manners. Mature and stable, humorous and modest. Has various hobbies, such as playing electronic piano and harmonica, dancing, singing and ice skating, bowling, playing badminton and other ball games. He would like that his other half, to be between 35 and 40, caring for parents, with a good income, a decent appearance and with good taste, bright and sophisticated and to appreciate the quality of life.

Above : Mr Cho, a technician, came to the park to find his 27 year old daughter a husband.