Basement Speed dating

Between sessions at the literary festival I went to a café in the basement of M-on the Bund for a tea and get some work done. It looked as if there was an organized event but they let me sit down at an open table. I noticed that all the women were on side of long tables and men on the other. I ordered my tea and got to work.
The two men with microphones instructed the groups to get snacks. Then people started to be called to the front where three men sat in chairs with women volunteers behind them putting crackers on their foreheads that they had to get to their mouth without using their hands. In a way it reminded me of young life or camp and games we play with secondary students. I had no idea what was happening and tried to just continue working. Then someone sat down at my table quickly smiled looked at the men trying ever so hard to get the cracker to their mouth by contorting their faces, I asked what was going on …..speed dating!!!
As a single I have never been to speed dating and here I am stumbling upon it in Shanghai. I guess this is an alternative for these Chinese mid 20s early 30s, rather than having their parents sit in People’s square on a Sunday with their information written on papers hanging from clotheslines this group participated in speed dating to find a match. After the food on face event, the men got up and systematically changed tables. The fella that was at my table joined the others and no one replaced him at my table…. I never get mistaken for a local. I continued to watch the body language of the group: some people were not talking to the opposite sex or anyone for that matter, guys were talking to girls that were not their “designated” date, wing-men situations occurred to help out their neighbors; others went for more snacks possibly wishing they were not at the end of the table and could have more people to pull from.
I wonder if any of them will recount the story to their friends or kids of how they met at speed dating in a basement in Shanghai?
“When did you know you were for each other?”
“I knew by the expression that he was making that he was the one for me. I think he knew too, his eyes got teary and soft and it was not from the crumbs”.
I was writing this as I was sitting there and when I packed up my computer one of the male participants came up to me and started chatting. … haha