In a country where being single over the age of 25 makes you a ‘leftover’, we see the extent of China’s desperate quest for love in the second episode of Secrets of China.
Starting in Hefei, Billie shows us a ‘government sponsored marriage market’ where people display handwritten cards describing themselves and what they’re looking for and hang them up for people to read; the main criteria for women is a man with his own house, a car, and a high salary. For men, it’s good looking, young, obedient girls. Romantic, isn’t it? In the midst of all this we see a woman who is so worried her 28 year old son isn’t married that she physically can’t sleep.
This episode is a really interesting look into the world of love in China, something that perhaps never even entered our thoughts, and the competition is fierce as there are 20 million more women than men in China, due to the one child policy and a preference for sons. We see how vital marriage is in China, with some women going to the extreme lengths of undergoing plastic surgery whilst remaining conscious to achieve the desired European look: wide eyes and a small pointed nose. For men, things appear to be a lot more simple; they participate in seminars and interventions on how to ‘understand’ and ‘make a move’ on women.
What’s interesting about this episode is the marriage customs they have in China, which from the perspective of our Western culture may at first appear alien to us, including group weddings and underwater photo shoots. Perhaps the most shocking revelation is the way in which women who refuse to marry are labelled ‘leftovers’ and even disowned by their families, sparking an important but undeniably dangerous feminist revolution in a place where any kind of demonstration or protest is illegal.
Secrets of China, Tuesdays 9pm on BBC Three. Available on iPlayer.
Words by Olivia Walsh.