Where art thou, my love?

A group of young women on the Liede Bridge in Guangdong's provincial capital Guangzhou declare: "I want to get married!" They were attending a dating-training workshop. Photos by Xia Shiyan / for China Daily

Not wanting to be labeled shengnu, or "leftover women", singles in China are using all means to get hitched.

We've come a long way from the era when parents routinely hired someone to find their adult children a "perfect match". We now have the freedom to be our own matchmakers, but it's not always an easy task. To ensure higher success rates, some singles have resorted to getting help from professional dating coaches. The charges depend on the nature of the services, which include personal consultations and fashion makeovers. There are also "field trips", where the coaches observe their clients' interactions with the opposite sex in social settings and provide feedback. But the ultimate goal is to help their clients hone their seductive skills to succeed in the often vexing dating world.