Burnaby’s Central Park hosts Chinese-style matchmaking, as parents seek wedded bliss for kids

In a corner of a park in Metro Vancouver, the hunt for marital bliss is on.

Groups of middle-aged and elderly Chinese speakers pass around their smartphones or photos plucked from wallets, smiling and nodding their greetings before getting down to business.

Do you have a daughter or a son? How old are they? Where did they go to university? Where do they work? And perhaps most importantly — why are they still single?

Central Park in Burnaby has become a matchmaking corner for parents, replicating a phenomenon seen in some cities in China.

On the weekend before Valentine’s Day, there were 20 to 30 parents mingling. Organizer Terry Wang says in summer, there are more than 100.