Saturday in Shanghai

I woke up a little bit shocked to find that it was 77 degrees. I can now say it wasn't hot here! It's not supposed to last but let's enjoy the moment, even if the humidity was 80%. I decided to take advantage of the nicer weather and walk all day. This time there are a lot of photos to capture what I observed today.

I began by walking a few miles from a faraway train station to People's Park. I encountered an unusual scene that was worth spending some time to understand. There is an area where adults, typically parents and grandparents post specific information about their children. (Sometimes the poster is the person looking.) This is a live market for matchmaking. Of course, I couldn't understand any of what was written except the year of birth. I saw people's posting with year of birth ranging from 1957 to 1985.



It's a sad but interesting place that hopefully my photographs capture. Although, mostly these presentations are just sheets of paper with vital personal information, there are some people sitting there with photos and other particulars waiting to speak to passersby who are seeking mates for their child. Many people are taking notes on the potential candidate for review later.



As with most things, a secondary market has emerged. For those of you who get Yiddish, we have a bunch of Yentas. Yes, matchmakers, think about the show "Fiddler" and the song. I observed two matchmakers who will use their special talents to find you a "perfect match". Here are two of them...





Then there was this smart young man who set himself up on a seat and interviewed prospective candidate who were also there looking for a live match...



THe last one struck me as sad probably because I could understand the words. First a lady placing her information on a wall...


And then a close up so you could actually read what she put there.



No funny comments, no special moments, just a little slice of life. More on the day later.

P.S. There are also some videos of the scene that I'm linking here. If you want to watch click on the video link and make sure to let it fully download before you begin watching.

Pay attention to the dates on the lists in the background.



This one is a matchmakers at work...