Beijing Women's Federation

To strengthen positive guidance on young people's perceptions on marriage, childbearing and family and promote the popularity of new-type marriage culture among the public, Beijing Women's Federation (BWF) and Beijing Radio & Television Station (BRTV) jointly held a matchmaking event in Beijing on August 10 to coincide the arrival of the Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentine's Day. The matchmaking event, which was undertaken by Beijing Women and Children's Services Center and Xicheng District Women's Federation, drew the attendance of about 200 young single people from government departments, Beijing-based troops, and the sectors of science, technology, education and medicine.

The event comprised four parallel chapters, which were themed with the responsibilities and duties of love, the sweetness and challenges of marriage, the imagination and exploration of singlehood, and the most beautiful wishes. Participants shared stories of inheritance of family values. During the gathering, some servicemen and their wives, who are nurses, shared with attendees about touching moments behind their mutual understanding and support in the midst of difficulties. Newly-wed couples spoke about their own ups and downs in their marriage life. There were also young singles that voiced their desire for love and talked about their perceptions of love and marriage. Miao Xiaohong, a member of the second batch of Chinese women pilots after the founding of the People's Republic of China, spoke with attendees about her love stories, sent best wishes to the young, and called on them to better manage and enjoy their love and cherish happy life.

Attending single young people became familiar with each other and engaged in friendly talks through the participation of well-designed interactive games. Affectionate expression of love, the last part of the event, brought the matchmaking event to a climax, with single attendees showing their desire for those they fancied. Organizers also set an exhibition area on marriage culture to review the development of marriage traditions and promote the popularity of positive marriage and family concepts that stress solidarity, mutual support, responsibilities and duties, and reciprocal love.

The youth is the hope of the country and the future of the nation. BWF will take into account special characteristics and needs of young people in the new era, make full use of the organizational strength of women's federations, make the necessary resources available, build platforms, as well as organizing marriage guidance, friend-making activities and family-dispute mediation services as means to nurture new-type marriage culture and advance the high-quality development of the Chinese population. The federation will push for the implementation of the Family Happiness and Well-being Campaign and the women's family services initiative, and make the marriage-related services offered by women's federations more considerate with positive impact.