Yangtze Briefing | Parents at Shanghai's 'Matchmaking Corner' cheated by marriage agents
Fraudulent agents stalk a popular marriage market in a Shanghai park
At weekends near the No 5 gate at the People's Park in the heart of Shanghai visitors can see hundreds, sometimes thousands, of older parents and pensioners gather.
They are there to display their unmarried children's personal information in an effort to find them the perfect partner.
The site is well known in the city as "Matchmaking Corner" and pieces of paper listing the ages, education and jobs of prospective husbands and wives hang from the trees like laundry from a line.
All is not well, however, at Matchmaking Corner. Huangpu district authorities have cracked down on matchmaking agencies operating in the area.
Parents have complained of paying hundreds of yuan for help to find a partner for their children only for the agencies to disappear with their cash.
Other agents have hired attractive men to go on dates with marriage candidates, posing as prospective partners to justify the agencies' fees, according to newspaper.
This week the authorities posted a notice on the park gate banning people from setting up booths to offer commercial matchmaking services, Shanghai Television reported.
