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.