Money won’t buy you love: the Chinese-Ukrainian couple who rejected the traditional ‘bride price’
The Chinese groom’s family was astonished to hear his Eastern European fiancée’s parents say he would not have to pay a cent for their daughter’s hand
A Chinese man and his Ukrainian bride have raised eyebrows in his rural hometown by shunning the tradition of paying a “bride price”.
He Pengwei, from rural Yangcheng county, northwestern Shanxi province, and Inesa, from Ukraine, decided to get married after meeting in Beijing and dating for one year.
Inesa, a translator, was drawn to He’s warmth and kindness, according to news portal China.com, which did not disclose Inesa’s surname. He, a salesman, said he liked Inesa’s cheerful, outgoing personality.
But when the couple told their parents of their intention to wed, He’s family was taken by surprise: Inesa’s parents demanded no bride price.
The bride price – which takes the form of money or property paid by the groom or his parents to the bride’s family before a wedding – is still common practice in China.
