When Miss Li Wenqi decided it was time to take marriage more seriously than her career - especially with her parents gently pushing her in that direction - the 30-year-old Shanghai export sales executive went to a matchmaking firm.

It was one of thousands that have sprung up to help young Chinese to find partners in the face of a gender imbalance.

Miss Li told Reuters: "I feel it is better late than never for me to be considering marriage at this time. I have to seize the opportunity.

"But my parents are a little nervous because they feel that women at this age should already be married and even have kids."

In traditional Chinese society, marriages were arranged by families and matchmakers, and tying the knot was never in question.

Although customs are changing rapidly, the one-child policy in modern China piles even more pressure on adults to get on with the business of producing offspring.

Matchmaking events are increasingly common, with eager singles - often accompanied by concerned parents - gathering in parks during weekends to search for love among personal information strung up on trees and notice boards.

Wildly popular

TV dating shows such as "If You Are the One", in which men have 20 minutes to sell themselves to 24 female guests, have become wildly popular, spawning similar programmes on TV stations across the nation.

Matchmaking companies have stepped in, riding the wave of popularity of such shows and traditional Chinese parental pressure to cash in on the marrying business.

Ms Sunny Ouyang, the founder and chief executive of Shanghai-based matchmaking company 5QChina.com: "Over the past two years, with the popularity of TV dating shows, people have become more aware and educated about matchmaking.

"Marriage is a very important event in one's life, but overall, families and society still don't put a strong enough emphasis on it."

Ms Ouyang, who began her business as a dating website, now holds dating workshops for singles and provides one-on-one tutoring in the finer points of romance for members, who pay between a few thousand to tens of thousands of yuan for the privilege.

She said: "(Our members) have basically had some kind of experience in a romantic relationship. For example, perhaps they have just broken up and they come to join us, or perhaps they have been through a divorce."

Most of her members are white-collar workers in their late 20s or early 30s who were unable to find love in their limited work and social circles.

Mr Li Xing, a 30-year-old production manager at a steel firm, said he joined because it was hard to meet women in his male-dominated industry.

He said: "This is better than people recommended to my parents, because that's restricted to only a small group of people, giving me less of a choice."

This article was first published in The New Paper.