OPINION

Marriage in China breaks the bank

News, Adam Minter, Published on 01/10/2018

» Getting married isn't cheap in China. In Da'anliu, a small farming village outside Beijing, the local "bride price" -- the fee that a groom's family pays to a bride's in advance of their nuptials -- recently breached the US$30,000 mark (972,000 baht). That's extreme for a village where incomes average $2,900 per year. So, this summer, local officials decreed that bride prices and associated wedding expenses shouldn't exceed $2,900. Violators will be treated as human traffickers.