The headline speaks for itself, but the article reveals some local touches.
"AT LEAST A THIRD OF THE ATTENDEES WERE PARENTS, EITHER CHAPERONING THEIR CHILDREN, ACTING AS GO-BETWEENS for the more bashful, or brokering deals with other parents for arranged romances.
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"The attendees, meanwhile, had some very rigid ideas about what they were looking for. MEN SAID THEY WANTED A "KIND-HEARTED" WIFE, NOT TOO BEAUTIFUL AND FLIGHTY, BUT MODEST AND HOMELY. THE "MINIMUM REQUIREMENT" FOR THE WOMEN MEANWHILE WAS STRAIGHT-FORWARD: A MAN WITH HIS OWN HOUSE, AND PREFERABLY ALSO A CAR.
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"Xue Xiaoyue, meanwhile, said she was already considered an old maid in her home village at the age of 27. "In my village in Anhui, all the girls marry at 20. Any unmarried woman older than 25 leaves town because of the shame. And these days, at 27, I dread going home for the holidays because of the badgering from my parents and relatives." She had travelled 300 miles to attend the event, but still had a strict set of requirements. "I used to be more unreasonable about what I expected, and I put my previous boyfriends under a lot of pressure to do better financially. THESE DAYS I STILL WOULD NOT MARRY A MAN WITHOUT A HOUSE, BUT A JOINT MORTGAGE MIGHT BE ACCEPTABLE," she said."
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