A marriage market is a public place where parents list advertisements for their children with the aim of finding a marital

spouse A spouse is a significant other in a marriage. In certain contexts, it can also apply to a civil union or common-law marriage. Although a spouse is a form of significant other, the latter term also includes non-marital partners who play a social ...

for them. People then congregate there and read the listings, often in the hope of finding a marital match. Several marriage markets exist in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, such as Shanghai's marriage market at

People's Square People's Square is a large public square in the Huangpu District, Shanghai, Huangpu District of Shanghai. It is south of Nanjing Road (West) and north of Huaihai Road (East). People's Square is the site of Shanghai's municipal government head ...

and at several parks and other public places in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, such as shopping malls. Finding a Match is easier than finding a Parking Space, Chennai

Alternatively, a marriage market can involve the use of marriage

broker A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...

s and marriage bureaus that are involved in

matchmaking Matchmaking is the process of matching two or more people together, usually for the purpose of marriage, in which case the matchmaker is also known as a marriage broker. The word is also used in the context of sporting events such as boxing, in ...

to unite people in marriage. In October 2011, marriage markets in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

involving the use of brokers were estimated to be a $250 billion (

Indian Rupee The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use wh ...

) industry. Marriage markets using brokers exists in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, India and in several other regions of India.

See also

References

Further reading