China's biggest matchmaking website, the century love, launched a "love-finding" fair on Saturday, attracting more than 4,000 singles in the national capital Beijing.
The huge dating event was arranged just like a recruitment fair for job hunters, where there were "employers", who were chosen particularly by the website and often played by some handsome boys or girls, or people with favorable qualifications such as high income or high social status.
Others can be "employees", who bring with their "resumes" just like job hunters. Both "employers" and "employees" are charged for 100 yuan for attending the fair.
Before going to the fair, participants could log on the website, download a fancy poster, and write detailed personal information on it and also some "advertising slogans" such as "I believe we have the fate...Just come here".
Each "employer" has his or her own exhibit stand, decorated with beautiful adornments such as self-made handiwork such as cross-stitch.
"I have never expected to join in such a creative dating, and it is so interesting...I expect to find my future husband through face-to-face 'interview'," said a Beijing girl at the fair.
It was the first time that the century love website held such an event.
The century love (shijijiayuan in Chinese) website was established by a university student in 2003, and soon it developed into a famous date arranging website nationwide, targeting people with higher education background. It has 12 million registered members and has helped two million singles find their spouses.
A survey conducted by China Computerworld magazine in 2006 shows that people with high education background and good salary are tend to trust more on website services to find their partners.
By 2005, young singles made up 46 percent of China's total population, according to China Youth and Child Research Center and the population and development research center of the Renmin University of China.
The year 2008 is thought by many singles as a very lucky year to find their partners as Beijing is hosting the 29th Olympic Games.
(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2008)