24,000 lonely hearts to attend dating weekend in Shanghai

About 24,000 people have registered for the city's biggest-ever matchmaking event, which will be held this weekend in Shanghai's Qingpu District.

Just under half of the applicants are men, the organizer of the fifth Shanghai Matchmaking Expo said yesterday.

It's always hard to get men to sign up, as they are not as keen on these events as women are, said Zhou Juemin, director of the Shanghai Matchmaking Association.

Quite a lot of Shanghai's bachelors are happy to stay that way, he said.

However, the number of younger people signing up is on the rise, he said.

"About 65 percent of the applicants are under 30," he said.

Though only a few parents of unmarried offspring have applied for the event, lots more are expected to turn up on the day, Zhou said.

"We expect to see some of the 600 parents who are waiting to join the blind date corner events we hold in Xujiahui every month," Zhou said.

This weekend's event will have a dedicated area for parents and another for single overseas returnees, for which more than 500 people have signed up, he said.

In China, women are regarded as being left on the shelf if they are still single in their late 20s, while the same applies to men in their mid-30s.

As a result, parents with sons and daughters approaching those ages will do almost anything to help them find a partner.

The expo is free to enter for single people under 40, while parents will be charged 50 yuan (US$8).