Because wannabe grandparents are so anxious for their children to find a mate, they come by the thousands every weekend to JongShan Park next to the Forbidden City and advertize for a mate for their son or daughter. In the rural areas, there are 30-40 million too many men, due to the 1979 one-child policy and rural families believing a son is better than a daughter. Now, there are no women to marry in the countryside. In the cities, it's not that way, but young men and young women are not getting married and producing those precious grandchildren.
It so happens that a famous LDS landmark exists exactly where the marriage market takes place. The tree under which David O. McKay offered a dedicatory prayer, was right in the thick of the action. When we single adult advisers took our single men and women to the park to see the tree, little did we know we were taking them to a marriage market.
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| At our apartment are Kevin Earl, Paul, Sabrina, Eketzel, Emily, Charles and Wei Su (also Laraine in the middle) We love these people! |
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| The famous tree. Take no notice of all the activity around the tree -- the buying and selling of marriage aged children. |
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| Listening to a reading of the description of the area in historic records while fending off curious bystanders who wonder if we have brought eligible marriage candidates. |
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| These "ads" include a son or daughter's height, weight, skills, education level, etc. After taking this picture, these men were anxious to see if I was married and where I was from. When I told them I was American and that my wife was over "yonder," they lost interest. I don't know if it was being American or being married that turned them away. |
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| Imagine the dedication of these parents who bring these ads every week. |
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| They all look eligible for marriage, right? These are some of the YSA's and singles from our Branch |
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| Chuck with the Bennetts, District President and wife. |
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