The primary goal of attending the Shanghai marriage market is for parents to find a suitable partner for their child. The standards of finding the right match may be based upon age, height, job, income, education, family values, zodiac sign, and personality. All of this information is written on a piece of paper, which is then hung upon long strings among other parents' advertisements for their children. Parents walk around chatting with other parents to see if there is a harmonious fit only after their children's standards are met.

Umbrellas are used for advertising. In many parents' eyes, parent matchmaking gatherings such as the Shanghai Marriage Market are the only way to uphold a traditional dating style for their children in modern China.