From New Statesman:
Dr Sun Yat-sen Park is named after the founding father of modern China, and it stands on the site where the imperial family worshipped their ancestors, some 600 years ago. Today, it is the venue of China’s first “love market”, a meeting point between China’s tradition of arranged marriage and the irresistible rise of consumer choice, even in the area of personal relationships. Here, parents come to exchange pictures and brief biographies of their children of marriageable age in the hope of finding the perfect partner for each, with the right qualifications, income and, almost as important, a compatible animal sign.
“My son is a dragon. Is your daughter a rabbit? No?” The grey-haired woman shifts her eyes away from the couple to search the crowd around her. “Has anyone got a rabbit? I’m looking for a rabbit. Rabbit and dragon are a good match!”
