A desperate father gifted his son 20 properties to help him attract a wife, sparking debate on some parents' obsession to marry off their children

• A father in China gifted his son 20 properties in a desperate attempt to help him attract a wife.
• The incident sparked debate online about some parents' obsession to marry their kids off in China.

A father in China gifted his son 20 properties in a desperate attempt to help him attract a wife, sparking debate online about some parents' obsession to marry their kids off.

According to Chinese news outlet Jimu News, a father in China's Hebei Province showed up at a matchmaking corner at a park last Sunday to look for a wife for his 24-year-old son — with 20 property deeds in hand as a dowry of sorts.

Matchmaking corners are public spaces where parents gather to find potential mates for their children. Professional matchmakers also attend these meetings to help connect parents with one another. They're found in many major cities and small towns across China.

In video footage circulating on social media, a pink tote bag is open to show a stack of documents that the father says are deeds of commercial properties.

"The father is not trying to show off. He just wanted to display his sincerity and find a daughter-in-law of equal status," a matchmaker named Wang, who registered the father's details for dates, told Jimu News.

"He said his son has a stable job and has many good qualities," Wang continued.

The story has gone viral this week, with the hashtag "man brings 20 property deeds to seek marriage for his son," getting 78 million views on the Twitter-like platform Weibo.

Many users joked that they would volunteer themselves as potential wives, while others said that the move reflected some parents' obsession with seeing their children married.

"That kind of pressure is a bit too much. Maybe the son doesn't even want to get married," one person commented.

In China, there is an expectation for people to get married before they turn 30, and it is not uncommon for parents to push their children in that direction. If young women are not married after 27, they are referred to as sheng nu, or leftover women.

The pressure to wed comes as millennials increasingly shun marriage. According to official statistics, China's marriage rate has declined for eight consecutive years to a 36-year low.