It's called "Shanghai's 3rd Annual Love and Marriage Expo." But the atmosphere at this massive gathering for single Chinese men and women was decidedly unromantic.
這場(chǎng)活動(dòng)叫做“上海第三屆婚戀博覽會(huì)”。但這場(chǎng)為中國(guó)單身男女們舉辦的大型聚會(huì)的氣氛卻一點(diǎn)也不浪漫。

More than 18,000 people preregistered for the weekend event, located rather incongruously in a sprawling shopping complex specializing in home and office furniture.
超過(guò)1萬(wàn)8千人搶注參與了這場(chǎng)周末活動(dòng)?；顒?dòng)的舉辦地點(diǎn)很怪異，在一個(gè)專(zhuān)賣(mài)居家辦公家具的大型購(gòu)物中心里。

The crowds were met by billboards posting lists of thousands of single men and women -- one list in pink and the other in blue. Within minutes of the doors opening on a rainy Saturday morning, visitors huddled to study the lists and take in vital intel about potential suitors -- age, height, education, annual income and their registered hometown, also known as hukou.
面對(duì)人群的是張貼著成千上萬(wàn)單身男女信息的廣告牌——一列是粉色，一列是藍(lán)色。博覽會(huì)在一個(gè)下著雨的周六早晨開(kāi)始，開(kāi)門(mén)短短幾分鐘，參與者就擠成一團(tuán)，開(kāi)始研究廣告牌上的內(nèi)容，并記錄下可能對(duì)象的重要信息——年齡、身高、教育背景、年收入、戶口所在地。

Some people took notes, while others snapped photos of single entries with their cellphones.
有的人在記筆記，有的人則用手機(jī)拍照記錄單身者們的信息。

In one hall more than a hundred men and women in their twenties and thirties sat facing each other at tables decorated with red and yellow tablecloths, the soothing tones of a Norah Jones love song spilling out from loudspeakers.
在一個(gè)大廳，一百多位二三十歲的男女在鋪著紅黃桌布的桌子前面對(duì)面坐著，廣播里傳來(lái)爵士女伶諾拉·瓊斯的舒緩情歌。

"Welcome everybody to our 8-minute speed-dating event," announced the master of ceremonies eventually. When the eight minutes was up, each dater was instructed to move on. "Male guests please move two seats to your left," boomed the announcer.
“歡迎大家參加我們8分鐘快速約會(huì)環(huán)節(jié)，”大會(huì)主持人終于宣布。8分鐘一結(jié)束，每個(gè)約會(huì)者都必須挪動(dòng)位置。“男嘉賓請(qǐng)向你的左手邊挪動(dòng)兩個(gè)位置，”主持人大聲說(shuō)。

For some participants, this was the first time they had ever been on a date. "It's useful...it's just like research," said Yixin Bai, a 20-year-old man home for the summer holidays from a university in Canada.
對(duì)于某些參與者來(lái)說(shuō)，這是他們第一次約會(huì)。 “這很有用……就好像做研究一樣，”20歲的白毅新（音譯）說(shuō)，他在加拿大讀大學(xué)，現(xiàn)在回家過(guò)暑假。

Bai said he has never had a girlfriend before. This is not uncommon amongst young Chinese, considering many teens are discouraged from having any romantic relationships in high school and told to focus on school work instead. He came to the expo to learn what women want from men.
白毅新說(shuō)他從沒(méi)有交過(guò)女朋友。這在中國(guó)的年輕人中并不少見(jiàn)，因?yàn)樵S多青少年在高中時(shí)都不被允許談戀愛(ài)，而要專(zhuān)注于學(xué)習(xí)。他來(lái)這場(chǎng)博覽會(huì)是想要了解女人對(duì)男人有哪些要求。

"After asking them, I now know something: Women don't like men to rely on their parents," he said.
“問(wèn)過(guò)她們之后，現(xiàn)在我明白了一些：女人不喜歡男人依賴(lài)父母，”他說(shuō)。

Bai was participating in a speed-dating event organized by Zhenai Inc., one of China's largest Internet match-making websites. The company says it has more than 58 million registered users and is growing by one million users a month.
白毅新參加的這場(chǎng)快速約會(huì)活動(dòng)是由珍愛(ài)網(wǎng)組織的，這是中國(guó)最大的相親網(wǎng)站之一。公司稱(chēng)他們擁有5千8百多萬(wàn)的注冊(cè)用戶，而且還在以每月一百萬(wàn)的速度增長(zhǎng)。

Zhenai's founder and CEO is a Columbia University-educated former investment banker named Song Li. He says the one-child policy implemented by the Chinese government in 1979 has resulted in young adults having poor social skills -- crucial in the dating game.
珍愛(ài)網(wǎng)的創(chuàng)始人和CEO李松曾就讀于哥倫比亞大學(xué)，之前是一名投資銀行家。他說(shuō)，中國(guó)政府從1979年開(kāi)始執(zhí)行的計(jì)劃生育政策讓許多年輕人的社交技能非常弱，而這在約會(huì)當(dāng)中是至關(guān)重要的。

"A lot of kids who were born after 1980, they don't have siblings. So they grow up in an environment where you don't have the experience to meet with people of the opposite sex," Li opined.
李松認(rèn)為，“很多80后的孩子沒(méi)有兄弟姐妹。所以在他們成長(zhǎng)的環(huán)境里沒(méi)有和異性接觸的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。”

Many participants said they came to the convention because they needed help. They said they found it difficult to meet potential romantic partners outside their immediate circle of friends and family.
許多參與者說(shuō)，他們來(lái)參加這次大會(huì)是因?yàn)樗麄冃枰獛椭Ｋ麄冋f(shuō)他們發(fā)現(xiàn)在自己身邊的朋友圈之外遇見(jiàn)可能的對(duì)象非常困難。

And many Chinese approaching their late twenties, especially women, are under immense pressure to get married. "My mother asks, 'Why are you still single? Are you a freak?'" said Elsie, a 26-year-old woman who was taking part in a speed-dating session.
許多年近30的中國(guó)人，尤其是女性，承受著巨大的結(jié)婚、壓力。“我媽媽問(wèn)，‘為什么你還是單身？你不正常嗎？’”一個(gè)參加快速約會(huì)的26歲姑娘Elsie說(shuō)。

The woman next to her, who asked to be called May and is also 26, said her father asked the same question.
她旁邊的女孩也是26歲，自稱(chēng)叫May，說(shuō)她的父親也問(wèn)了她同樣的問(wèn)題。

"Everyone has the same story," said May laughing. "I feel free because I'm single... but I know this is the time I need to date somebody. I need to get married before thirty." Both women said they did not want to become shengnu, or the "leftover women."
“每個(gè)人都有相同的故事，”May笑著說(shuō)。“我感覺(jué)很自由，因?yàn)槲沂菃紊怼抑牢业瞄_(kāi)始約會(huì)了。我需要在30歲之前結(jié)婚?！?兩個(gè)女孩都說(shuō)她們不想成為剩女。

"It is one of the most talked about issues in Chinese society because a lot of educated women are left behind because they set a very high standard for their future husbands ... and they are less willing, unlike their parents' generation, to compromise," said Zhenai's Li.
“這是中國(guó)社會(huì)里談?wù)撟疃嗟膯?wèn)題之一，很多受過(guò)良好教育的女性被剩下了，因?yàn)樗齻儗?duì)于未來(lái)丈夫的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)定得太高……而和她們父母那一代不同，她們不太愿意妥協(xié)，” 珍愛(ài)網(wǎng)的李松說(shuō)。

May, who has a good job in human resources at an international firm and speaks fluent English, said this was her first time at a match-making event. She said she had never had a boyfriend before or been in love.
May在一家外企有一份不錯(cuò)的人力資源工作，會(huì)說(shuō)流利的英語(yǔ)。她說(shuō)這是她第一次來(lái)參加相親，之前從沒(méi)有過(guò)男朋友，也沒(méi)有戀愛(ài)過(guò)。

"I have no time to get to know other males at a similar age ... that's why I can't find my Mister Right," she said. "I just wish that I have some luck today."
“我沒(méi)時(shí)間認(rèn)識(shí)和我年齡差不多的男人……這就是為什么我找不到我的真命天子，”她說(shuō)?！拔抑幌Ｍ医裉炷苡悬c(diǎn)運(yùn)氣?！?/div>

Despite being rejected by two men, May was in good spirits. She said that the two men needed a women who had a registered hukou in Shanghai.
雖然已經(jīng)被兩名男士拒絕，May的情緒還不錯(cuò)。她說(shuō)那兩個(gè)人想找一個(gè)有上海戶口的女人。

For a gathering of thousands of single men and women, it was surprising to note that there was very little flirting going on.
雖然這里聚集了成千上萬(wàn)的單身男女，你會(huì)驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)這幾乎沒(méi)有什么打情罵俏。

People wandered the corridors picking up brochures from match-making companies and stopped in to listen to self-help lectures from "life coaches," who were schooling women in how to "brand" themselves.
人們?cè)谧叩郎吓腔?，收集相親公司派發(fā)的小冊(cè)子，也會(huì)停下來(lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)“人生導(dǎo)師”的自助演講，教女性如何自我“推銷(xiāo)”。

At times, the Love and Marriage Expo felt like a job fair. Online match-making entrepreneur Li said that was an accurate comparison. Finding a spouse is "almost like finding a job," he said.
有時(shí)候，這場(chǎng)婚戀博覽感覺(jué)就像是一場(chǎng)招聘會(huì)?；閼倬W(wǎng)站創(chuàng)辦者李松說(shuō)這個(gè)比喻很確切。找對(duì)象“就好像找工作，”他說(shuō)。

"People tend to be very pragmatic," he explained. "[Being single] is a problem that you have an obligation to fix. And your parents feel that it is their obligation to see to it -- to get this problem fixed."
“人們?cè)絹?lái)越現(xiàn)實(shí)，”他解釋說(shuō)。“（單身）這個(gè)問(wèn)題你有義務(wù)要去解決。而且你的父母會(huì)覺(jué)得他們有義務(wù)去留意、去解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題?！?/div>

Another startling revelation was that there were nearly as many parents at the Love and Marriage Expo as there were single men and women.
另一點(diǎn)讓人驚訝的是，出席這場(chǎng)婚戀博覽會(huì)的父母幾乎和在場(chǎng)的單身男女一樣多。

Some parents stood at the bustling entrance to the convention holding up printed posters advertising the details of their single children. Others walked alongside their adult sons and daughters, inspecting the booths of different match-making agencies.
有的父母站在人來(lái)人往的活動(dòng)入口，舉著印有各種細(xì)節(jié)的招牌，為他們單身的孩子打廣告。還有的和他們的成年孩子走在一起，打量著各家相親機(jī)構(gòu)的展臺(tái)。

One match-maker told CNN she had to prohibit parents accompanying their children to the speed-dating tables.
一位相親機(jī)構(gòu)工作人員告訴CNN，她不得不阻止父母?jìng)冊(cè)诳焖偌s會(huì)環(huán)節(jié)陪在孩子身邊。

"I respect my parents' opinion," said May. "If my parents say this guy is no good, then I won't date [him]. But if my parents say this one is good, that they are happy with this boy, then I will try."
“我尊重我父母的想法，”May說(shuō)?！叭绻业母改刚f(shuō)這個(gè)男孩不好，我就不會(huì)跟（他）約會(huì)。但是如果我的父母說(shuō)這個(gè)人不錯(cuò)，他們對(duì)這個(gè)男孩很滿意，那我就會(huì)試試。”

In some cases, mothers and fathers clearly played a role as social icebreakers for their children.
在某些情況下，父母很顯然在為他們的孩子打開(kāi)社交的局面。

At one point, while wandering the corridors of the convention, May got a phone call. It was her father who was also there. May found him standing next to another father he had just met.
在大會(huì)的走道里徘徊時(shí)，May接了一個(gè)電話。是她的父親打來(lái)的，他也在現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。May看到她的父親和另一名父親站在一起，他們剛剛遇見(jiàn)。

The man happened to have a single son who worked in a bank and did not attend the convention. Fortunately he carried a photo -- and a passport -- of his son, which he showed to May. "His picture looks good. A little bit handsome," May responded.
那名父親剛好有一個(gè)單身的兒子，在銀行工作，今天沒(méi)來(lái)出席博覽會(huì)。幸運(yùn)的是他帶了他兒子的照片和護(hù)照，讓May看了看?！八恼掌瓷先ゲ诲e(cuò)，有點(diǎn)帥，”May回應(yīng)說(shuō)。

Then she stood somewhat awkwardly as the man's father took a photo of her in the crowded corridor. May's father looked over his counterpart's shoulder, murmuring advice as the digital image was taken.
那位父親在擁擠的走道里給May拍了照片，她站在那，多少有點(diǎn)不自在。May的父親從他的肩上看過(guò)去，在他拍照時(shí)嘴里念叨著給出建議。

May seemed pleased and grateful to the two dads. "They are both trying to help their child find their Mr. Right and Miss Right."
面對(duì)這兩位父親，May看上去開(kāi)心又感激?！八麄兌际窍霂妥约旱暮⒆诱业礁髯缘恼婷熳雍驼婷炫??！?/div>