Location: Beijing, China

“I’m Looking for You” Supermarket

If you’re off to Beijing this March then you’d probably be basking in the cold weather, chowing down some juicy shao long pao, taking a bazillion beautiful snapshots, and maybe even shopping for love. Yes, now you can shop for love! Officially known as the “I’m Looking for You” Supermarket, Beijing’s Supermarket of Love, which opened on Singles Day, last November 11, 2009 has since attracted over 1,000 clients and successfully matched over 50 couples.

With as many as 24 million eligible bachelors in China worrying that they may never be able to marry due to a lack of women in the country, the supermarket answered the need to provide a safe and friendly way for single men and women to meet and hopefully build a lasting relationship. The growing number of its clientele have actually expressed their preference for this manner of finding “the one” over their many failed attempts with internet dating services.

Interested singles first pay a registration fee of 20 Yuan (roughly 3 USD) after which their photo is taken and posted on a plaque among many others hanging on the grocery walls. Their plaques come with a list of their personal information (name, age, income, occupation, etc.), what they’re looking for in a potential partner, and a specific internet ID number, which would be the searcher’s means of directly getting in touch with their chosen single.

Men and women from all over China have tried their luck at the supermarket, from 25 year old female teachers to 36 year old male lawyers eager to make friends, enter into a serious relationship or are constantly prodded by their mothers to take this opportunity at settling down already.

So if you’re off to Beijing this March, bask in that cold weather. It is after all, blazing hot in most of Asia. Stop by a cart on the street and stick a straw down that warm and juicy shao long pao. Take in all that beautiful history and scenery. And maybe make your trip a little more interesting by visit their supermarket of la-la-love!