A marriage market is a public place where parents list advertisements for their children with the aim of finding a marital spouse for them.[1] People then congregate there and read the listings, often in the hope of finding a marital match.[2] Several marriage markets exist in China, such as Shanghai's marriage market at People's Square[2][3] and at several parks and other public places in Beijing, such as shopping malls.[1]
Alternatively, a marriage market can involve the use of marriage brokers[4] and marriage bureaus[5] that are involved in matchmaking to unite people in marriage.[4] [6] In October 2011, marriage markets in India involving the use of brokers were estimated to be a $250 billion (Indian Rupee) industry.[7] Marriage markets using brokers exists in New Delhi, India[4] and in several other regions of India.