Thursday, April 21, 2022

"Bride prices" are soaring in China

SCMP:

Nationwide, there were over 723 million men compared with over 689 million women, leading to a surplus of roughly 34 million men to women, according to official statistics.

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In Zhengning county, Gansu province, northwest China where Qin lives, the average annual income was just over 20,000 yuan (US$3,136) last year, meaning it would take 15 years to raise the money demanded as the bride price by Qin’s girlfriend’s family.

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The Zhengning government said it had set an upper limit for the bride price at 80,000 yuan (US$12,547) for rural families, and 60,000 yuan (US$9,410) for public servants in its latest clampdown on high marriage expenses, according to its reply to Qin on April 7.