Getting married is expensive in China, especially in the north. Let's look at the example of a small village in Liaoning province that Niuniu has visited. The annual income of an average household is less than HK$4,000, but a wedding will cost the groom's family at least $20,000. The parents of the grooms are expected to have a house built for the newlyweds, arrange a banquet with more than 10 tables and buy basic electronic appliances such as a TV and refrigerator. When asked why a wedding has to be such a costly affair, a young villager, Little Rock, says: 'In villages, the boys outnumber the girls. A girl, no matter how ugly she is, can always find herself a husband. The boy faces a different story: if you don't make enough money, you can't get married.' He adds: 'People from villages are too poor to have an extravagant wedding, but they go into debt to make the wedding as fine as possible. You should see my cousin's wedding in the township. He started off as a poor peasant too. Now he has a business in Shenzhen and he's made tons of money. Here is his invitation.' Niuniu looks at the invitation, embossed with golden lettering, and thinks it's gaudy. Little Rock says: 'I don't plan to go because I don't have any fancy clothes. You should check it out. Perhaps there is an article for you in it.' The next day, Niuniu, with the scented invitation in her hand, hires a car to go to the wedding venue, a fancy restaurant downtown. A traffic policeman flags them down 10 streets away from the restaurant. She cannot proceed as all the roads ahead are sealed off. 'Why can't we get in? I'm attending a wedding here,' she says. 'Attending Mr Chen's wedding?' asks the policeman. 'Yes,' Niuniu says. 'Why do you have a Toyota van? Don't you know that only cars like a Mercedes-Benz are allowed to be driving in the procession to the wedding?' says the policeman. Niuniu hears passing sirens wailing. She looks around and sees a motorcade flying by. A white, Lincoln stretch-limousine is adorned with bundles of roses mounted on the hood and silver wedding bells dangle from the back. Following are many Mercedes-Benzes, old and new, in different colours. It seems all the Benzes in town are there, and likely some from out of town, just for the occasion. Before coming to this small city, Niuniu learned the township had a high population of laid-off workers who live below the poverty line. Now, she is stunned at the sheer size of the Mercedes-Benz motorcade. 'Fifty Mercedes just passed. I counted. All the Benz owners are here to show off,' her driver says. Niuniu thinks of director Ang Lee's comment in his movie, The Wedding Banquet, that noisy weddings result from thousands of years of sexual repression in China. Perhaps a similar analogy is that such an ostentatious display of money and an exaggerated expression of wealth reflects the deep-rooted anger coming from thousands of years of poverty. While Niuniu is pondering this, a luxurious Bentley approaches and comes to a stop. Niuniu watches the policeman deny the Bentley's entrance into the motorcade. 'What type of car is it?' the policeman asks the driver. 'A Bentley,' the driver replies with pride. The policeman waves the driver away in contempt. 'This motorcade is only for luxury cars. Don't you see that even a Japanese-made Toyota is not allowed?' He points at Niuniu and her car. Niuniu follows the Bentley away from the motorcade, not quite believing what she has just witnessed. Somehow, missing this wedding doesn't seem quite so bad now because her Toyota has just received the same treatment as a new Bentley.