Marriages and Fantasy Photo Albums There is enormous pressure on Chinese youngster’s to marry. In a society that is still driven by traditional Confucian ethos, despite the enormous cultural discontinuity wrought by Mao, marriage (and children) is a fundamental duty of a person towards his family and society. Given all the changes over the years, with the loss of traditional and informal avenues, many alternate methods have sprung up. Dating events (Shanghai Line 2 Metro users dating event anyone!), ‘Marriage Markets’ – spaces in parks that are taken over by parents seeking a prospective spouse for their (often only) child, on-line sites and top end ‘love hunter’ services… the range of possibilities is enormous. For a society where ‘face’ guides and drives social interactions, China can be downright cruel towards people that are perceived to have failed to secure themselves a mate. Women over 27 that have not found themselves a mate are known as ‘ Sheng Nu ’. Ditto, men are kno...