Recently, an investigation conducted in Guiyang, a centralized location for cross-province matchmaking, has unveiled the “gray” industry chain behind “flash marriages and flash divorces”. Insiders who have worked in multiple matchmaking companies revealed that women facing difficult circumstances, especially those in debt, are more likely to be selected by matchmaking companies for flash marriages.
According to a report by Red Star News, in the matchmaking circle of Guiyang, stories of “huge profits” circulate, such as “a dowry of 600,000 yuan, with the matchmaker taking a cut of 200,000 yuan” and “each person’s monthly performance not falling below 1 million yuan”.
One matchmaking company once occupied an entire floor on the 17th floor of the Guiyang landmark Huaguo Garden Twin Towers. The company claims to be the largest blind date company platform in Guiyang and even nationwide.
The male matchmaker is responsible for bringing unmarried young men from fourth or fifth-tier small towns, while the customer service staff uses dating apps to scout potential female clients. The female matchmaker persuades divorced or indebted women. With division of labor, close collaboration, rapid matchmaking, resource sharing, and high commission rates, a cross-province flash marriage industry chain is thus completed.
Tianyancha shows that this matchmaking company was established in 2022 and was originally headquartered in Zunyi before relocating to Huaguo Garden in Guiyang. A company executive once publicly claimed that the company has more than 20 branch offices, hundreds of employees, and completed over a thousand flash marriages across provinces in 2023.
On May 9th this year, 40-year-old Mr. Liao rushed from his hometown in Ezhou, Hubei to Guiyang and got married in a flash two days later. The woman, from Bijie, Guizhou, had a dowry of 118,000 yuan. However, within 60 days of marriage, constant quarrels ensued between them as her demands for a car and house were not met. After multiple police reports, it was discovered that the woman had hidden the fact that she had five children.
Two months later, Mr. Liao returned to Guiyang to find that the matchmaking company, which had charged him over 160,000 yuan in service fees, had disappeared. The local police station sealed their doors.
Similarly, Wu stayed in Guiyang for half a year to reclaim a 72,000 yuan intermediary fee and a 128,000 yuan dowry. His savings were depleted after the flash marriage, forcing him to work part-time at a snack shop for 12 yuan per hour.
“Woman who has been married before requires a dowry of 200,000 to 300,000 yuan, while unmarried ones require 300,000 to 400,000 yuan,” Wu said. The matchmaker only introduces the woman after receiving a registration fee ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 yuan. “They will quote a price based on your financial status. Taking this money is to lock you in and trap you.”
Having spent half a year in Guiyang, Wu moved to Shenzhen in order to constantly return to Guiyang to “demand money”, unable to secure a stable job, he could only afford a 20 yuan per night bed and had to rely on odd jobs for a living.
On November 20th, he won the divorce lawsuit against the woman, with the court ordering her to return 79,110 yuan out of the actual dowry received totaling 87,900 yuan. Uncertain if the woman will appeal or become a defaulter, Wu has been unable to reclaim the 20,000 yuan taken by the matchmaker for half a year in Guiyang.
An individual familiar with the matchmaking company revealed that the company was sealed around June 20th, with “dozens of people taken away at that time.”
Huaguo Garden boasts over 200 buildings with over 35 floors, housing various types of small companies in the area. Centered around the Huaguo Garden Twin Towers, a search for “matchmaking” on the mobile map within a five-kilometer radius reveals over 60 matchmaking companies.
A Guiyang girl named Xiaoyan, who has worked in administrative and personnel roles at multiple matchmaking companies, mentioned that in Guiyang, many matchmaking companies have only one office, operating under the guise of a larger matchmaking company, collecting service fees. “There are even several companies with the same investor behind them.”
Companies or matchmakers will develop women facing difficult circumstances, including divorcees with children, into flash marriage candidates, with higher success rates for women in debt.
Another individual familiar with the Guiyang matchmaking market stated that under the lure of huge profits, some major matchmaking companies often have multiple affiliated companies. To “avoid risks,” these companies often have different legal entities and may register in multiple locations without having “any business dealings”.
Xiaoyan mentioned that companies or matchmakers will develop women facing difficult circumstances into flash marriage candidates. “Those in debt have higher success rates.”
Xiaoyan has since left the industry. “The profits of intermediary companies are too high. In a small office with over 20 customer service staff, the monthly profit brought to the company is 1 million yuan.” Xiaoyan said, at one point, the company had over 50 customer service staff, with daily wages calculated per day.
“The less the woman guest receives, the more you earn.” A telephone recording obtained by a wedding company founder indicates that the head of the above-mentioned matchmaking company introduced the company’s “business model”.
“If the flash marriage male party comes with over 200,000 yuan, you can earn 50,000 to 60,000, even 70,000.” The person in charge introduced that after the male and female guests are interested, they undergo pre-marital check-ups and credit report screening. It’s okay if the woman has debts; she can pay it off with her dowry, or the male guest can help. “After it’s settled, you obtain the money the next day, deliver it to the woman, and immediately collect your money.”
According to the introduction, some matchmaking companies have already begun to transition to Kunming and Nanning.