Awesome Chinese marriage market

Every weekend, parents, grandparents and matchmakers descend on to People’s Square to find a match for their loved ones/ clients. Clipped on the bushes are hundreds of flyers advertising prospective brides and bridegrooms. These include their age, occupation, education, qualities and most importantly, salary.

Grandparents walk around scouring the leaflets for those four words that separate the men from the boys,”You Che You Fang” (有车有房) literally meaning “Have car, have apartment.” This supposed criterion for marriage has come up for harsh criticism online and is considered emblematic of the increasingly materialistic nature of the new Chinese society.

To be fair, I’ve met many Chinese girls who refute this trend of looking at marriage as “a way of pulling resources” (Roseanne Lake), but their cause hasn’t been helped by Ma Nuo. When asked on a dating game show if she would go on a date with a guy on a bicycle, 20-year old Ma Nuo replied,

“I’d rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle” (宁在宝马车里哭，也不在自行车上笑)

The comment resonated with the Chinese public and caused a great deal of soul searching among traditional Chinese people. It was popular enough for our teacher to teach it to us in class along with the word “LuoHun” (裸婚） literally translated as “naked wedding”.

That’s the term for weddings where the couple does not possess the car or apartment required for a classic Chinese union.