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Parents bemoan loss of 'matchmaking' park

2014-09-01 10:06 Shanghai Daily Web Editor: Yao Lan
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Matchmaking information is on display at People’s Park yesterday. — Zhang Suoqing

Matchmaking information is on display at People's Park yesterday. — Zhang Suoqing

A crackdown on matchmaking activities at People's Park in downtown Shanghai has disrupted what was a lucrative business for blind-date fraudsters and created a headache for parents who view the site as their last-ditch hope to find partners for unmarried children.

Huangpu District authorities began evicting matchmakers from the park last month following public complaints and media reports about unlicensed matchmakers swindling desperate parents.

The crackdown, which involved police, greenery and market watchdog, has busted 25 illegal agencies and confiscated nearly 700 advertisement boards of matchmaking services so far. But there were still few who managed to hoodwink the authorities and continue to ply their trade yesterday.

Many parents bemoan the loss of a site that is widely considered the best place for matchmaking — parents like Lin Shifa, 57, who sat in the park's "blind date corner" for about four hours last Saturday.

On a pink umbrella to shield him from the sun, he had attached a piece of paper listing all the attributes of his 31-year-old, unmarried daughter.

"The park should be a place for parents only, not matchmaking agencies," he said.

His daughter works in information technology in Zhangjiang. His efforts to fine her a partner have been frustrating. "Only about 30 percent of the people who come to the park are men, and among them, 80 percent are no good," he said. "The rest are too picky. They seem like men seeking imperial concubines."

Matchmaking is a traditional way for single Chinese men and women in their 20s and 30s to meet. It has become especially popular amid the rising number of so-called "leftover" people — well-educated, highly paid young professionals who find it increasingly hard to find a mate.

Despite the recent crackdown in People's Park, illegal matchmaking agencies are still in evidence, many of them masquerading as parents. They go about the park distributing leaflets about singles and about their services.

"I hate matchmaking agencies and don't trust any of them," said a 70-year-old woman surnamed Zhou. She said she was swindled out of 1,800 yuan (US$290) by a matchmaking agency in the park when she sought a partner for her 37-year-old daughter. Every weekend for the past five years, she comes to the park from 7am to 5pm.

Zhou said she and other parents have complained that the illegal agencies are still operating in the park, but she suspects they give cigarettes and liquor to park officials, who then turn a blind eye. "I just hope the park can be returned to its original, pure environment," she said.

Exorbitant fees

Others said they don't mind the agencies in the park as long as they are legal and don't charge exorbitant fees.

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