A show people love to watch as viewers turn on to romance

Backstage, six women dressed to the nines waited in anticipation for male candidate Lin Kailiang to appear on stage as they stood around a television screen watching the livestream. Cheers were then heard on stage and from the audience, as the bright-eyed and slightly plump man from Hunan province finally appeared. While Lin strode confidently to the front of the stage, the women made some comments of his first appearance. One athletic woman found him a bit too short, while another said that he was the "plump" kind that her mother would like.

The women are participants in a television program called Xinxiangqindahui, or The New Matchmaking Big Meet, by Jiangsu Television. Every Sunday night for the past three months, men and women eager to find potential marriage partners have made television appearances with their family members and friends in tow.

Matchmaking is a centuries-old tradition in which a matchmaker acted as an intermediary by suggesting suitable matches to parents for their children. Parents would thereafter make the final decision on their child's match.