BBC.CO.UK – Feb 7 - Zhou Xiaopeng, a consultant at one of China's top three
dating agencies, Baihe.com, talks about marriage, love and dating in
today's China.
Q: Why do parents play such an important role in relationships between Chinese couples?
A: In China you also marry the person's family. It's important you get along with your mother-in-law.
Q: Why are so many singles in China having trouble finding the right one?
A: Women are becoming stronger now in all aspects, including in their
work, studies and hobbies. The main group of people who are seeking
marriages are born in the 1980s. Boys are overprotected, so some of
men's abilities have degraded, such as their sense of
responsibility. Also, for most men, they always want to find young and
pretty women. No matter if they are in their 20s, 30s, 40s or 50s, they
always find women under 30 years old.
Q: What kind of pressure do women in their late 20s face in China?
A: In China, parents are ashamed of the fact that their children are not married when they are 28 – 32 years.
Q: How does your consultancy help customers?
A: First, I ask them to let parents know how you are doing. I ask them
to tell their parents the efforts they have been making towards getting a
good marriage. I ask them to understand that parents only rush their
marriage because they care about them.
Q: Does the one-child policy play a role in this phenomenon?
A:
If you don't get married, it means you are not good enough. The
pressure to be "good" is far more than what you get from the one-child
policy.
Q: Is this going to get better soon?
A: This pressure will decline. t'll probably take 20 to 30 years.