- Published
At 37, Wang Zhuang had almost given up hope of finding a wife, until he saw the glossy matchmaking adverts.
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he → publish → adverts
They promised he wouldn't have to waste years on building a relationship that had no future.
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that → promise → future
They offered to introduce him to a demure, devoted woman.
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They → offer → woman
"The matchmakers said that girls from Guizhou are frugal," Wang says.
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Wang → say → Guizhou
"They told me they are good at running a household, able to do housework, and their families are very poor, so after marrying into your family, they would settle down and live a life with you.
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they → tell → you
So Wang travelled to Guiyang, a city in the southwestern province of Guizhou, in the hope of finding his soulmate.
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Wang → travel → soulmate
He thought he had, when he was matched with a woman who seemed to tick every box.
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who → think → box
They had only met a few times before they married.
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they → meet → ?
Then, almost as quickly as his new life had begun, it was over.
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it → begin → ?
"My whole family has been thrown into chaos," he says, shaking his head.
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he → throw → head
He is still picking up the pieces more than a year after he discovered that everything he had been told by his wife was a lie.
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he → pick → wife
She was a former karaoke hostess who'd been married three times, had three children, a serious sexually transmitted disease and was deeply in debt.
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who → marry → debt
She had even lied about her age.
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She → lie → age
He is fighting for a divorce and cannot return home to his old life - at least until he can recoup some of his life savings, which he says he paid to the agency within hours of being introduced to several potential matches.
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he → fight → matches
"My parents blame me.
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parents → blame → me
I have insomnia and anxiety.
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I → have → insomnia
I can't focus on work."
Wang's story is an extreme symptom of a demographic crisis that has long been in the making in China.
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that → focus → China
For decades, China's Communist Party decreed that couples could have only one child.
uncertain
couples → decree → child
They reversed course in January 2016 but by then the "one-child" policy, coupled with a preference for boys, had produced a shrinking pool of women and a stark gender imbalance.
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policy → reverse → women
There are now 30 million more men than women in China – that's more than the male population of the UK, or the entire population of Australia.
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that → be → Australia
This has left men like Wang, who are in their late 30s and who live in smaller cities or far-flung, rural areas, with few options.
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who → leave → options
Women in these places can afford to be choosy as they know they are in demand.
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they → afford → demand
You need to have a car, a house and your family should preferably run a business," he says.
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he → need → business
Many families also demand a high "bride price", a longstanding Chinese custom where the groom's family gives money to the bride.
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family → demand → bride
In parts of China, where men far outnumber women, this has become a significant financial burden.
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this → outnumber → women
Hence the appeal of matchmaking agencies like the ones in Guizhou, which are proposing a one-stop, quick solution - or "flash marriages".
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which → propose → solution
Matchmaking agencies are hardly new in China, but many seem to be finding vulnerable targets in men who are struggling to find partners as they grow older.
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they → seem → partners
So much so that state media recently reported that the industry had seen "rapid growth" which had "bred illegal practices and chaos".
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which → report → practices
It's hard to determine the scale of such fraud across China but it has grown enough to draw the attention of Chinese officials.
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it → determine → officials
Between January 2024 and March 2025, prosecutors handled cases involving 1,546 individuals for crimes related to the matchmaking industry.
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prosecutors → handle → industry
This month, five separate authorities jointly launched a nationwide crackdown on the matchmaking industry after the issue generated "widespread public concern".
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issue → launch → concern
In one case, a matchmaking agency reportedly used karaoke waitresses as bait to defraud 128 victims of more than 2.5 million yuan (£274,000, $371,000).
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agency → use → yuan
"I think the government could introduce industry-specific regulations targeting flash marriage scams," Fan Binghe, from the Nanjing Office of the Beijing Jingshi law firm, told the BBC.
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Binghe → think → BBC
Although Guiyang has become synonymous with this booming "flash marriage" market, there is little to suggest it is a romantic hub.
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it → become → market
The agency offices sit in a dense warren of buildings above a shopping precinct, where vendors sell local fruit and workers queue for takeaway sour soup rice noodles.
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workers → sit → noodles
Wang, however, was convinced he could trust them after the company told him they would do a full background check and that he would be entitled to compensation if he was the victim of fraud.
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he → convince → fraud
So he paid up and the introductions began.
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introductions → pay → ?
He met seven women in various "blind date" rooms over a few days while being carefully supervised by agency staff.
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He → meet → staff
He asked questions about where they came from, if they'd been married before and if they had any kids.
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they → ask → kids
He set his heart on the eighth woman he met.
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he → set → woman
…and 68 more, not listed.
