Matchmaking moms need to let go

Spring Festival is the time for family reunions in China since long ago. But nowadays, many young people choose to stay in Beijing instead of going home for the festival. The reason may sound weird: to escape their mothers' "date and marriage" push.

One of my friends, a Chinese woman in her mid-twenties, is studying in the US. Despite the expensive long-distance fares, her mom kept calling her from China, forcing her to find a man and get married.

The daughter was annoyed but still begged an American classmate to take a picture with her, pretending that he was her boyfriend. She told me she would take this picture home to reassure her anxious mom.