Zhu Fang’s living room walls are plastered with hundreds of headshots of hopeful singles, some of them faded and featuring bouffant hairstyles and outdated outfits.

For almost 50 years he has been one of Beijing’s most popular matchmakers, and even now — aged 75 — he remains in as much demand as ever.

In his time uniting lonely hearts, China has undergone dramatic social change.

Marriage, which has traditionally been key in the patriarchal society, is in decline and the country’s birth rate fell to its lowest level in 70 years in 2018.

But Zhu insists people are still looking for love, and his phone rings often with matchmaking requests.

“It’s meaningful, and that’s why I’ve continued,” he says, but concedes it is not a lucrative business, and he relies on the financial support of his children.

Zhu says he’s inspired by late Chairman Mao Zedong’s political slogan, “Serve the People”.

“When I help others to find happiness, I also get some happiness myself,” Zhu says.

He charges a one-off 200 yuan ($29) membership fee and his clients are mainly elderly people hoping to find spouses for their adult children.

On a cold December morning, his from-home “office” is full of middle-aged parents huddling around binders of printed dating profiles, searching for a suitable son- or daughter-in-law.

Retiree Huang Guiyun says she’s worried about her widowed daughter.

“We have our own house in Beijing, and she has money,” Huang said. “Everything is going smoothly — except for the loneliness.”