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Liya Su

A reality television show in China sparked a debate about whether it would be a smart decision to bring a German mother-in-law to the country to live with the couple.
The wife, a 32-year-old, named Huang Fangli, thought it would be wonderful if her husband’s mother, who has lived her entire life in Germany, moved to China to live with the married couple.
The couple lives in Shenzhen, in Guangdong province in southern China.
The idea was suggested on a June 11 episode of a reality show called Chinese Wedding: My Daughter is Married, which launched on April 16 on Mango TV, a popular channel based in Hunan in southern China.
“Can we bring your mother to China to live with us?,” Huang asked her 26-year-old husband Gary, thinking it would be a sign of love for the older woman.
“Yes, we can,” said Gary after a long pause.

Huang made sure to be explicit that she meant Gary’s mother to become a long-term resident in China.
However, she said she was worried the mother-in-law would not want to leave Germany, the only country where she had ever lived.
Nonetheless, the mother-in-law was on board, despite being concerned that her arrival would intrude on the lives of Huang and Gary.
“My mum was a bit worried because she thought she should not interfere with our married life,” said Gary.
“I have not seen my mum for about three years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. When I told her that her daughter-in-law would like to spend time with her, she said ‘yes’ [to the idea of moving].”
The situation sparked an interesting debate on mainland Chinese social media, attracting 5,167 comments and over 123,000 likes by the time of publishing.

Most people applauded the intention, but they also debated if the plan could work.
“Is Huang aware of the conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law? Or perhaps she thought it would be easier because her mother-in-law is not Chinese?” asked one person on Weibo.
Another commenter who claimed she was about to become a mother-in-law said: “The relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is nuanced and fragile. I will never live with my daughter-in-law.”
Another argued: “Am I the only person who thinks living with the mother-in-law is good? My mother-in-law has been very supportive and has taken good care of me as her daughter.”
According to a popular dating site, zhenai.com, 76 per cent of married women in China do not want to live with their in-laws, while 57 per cent of men are open to the idea.


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Sex and relationships

‘My mum was a bit worried’: reality show idea to bring German mother-in-law to China to live with couple sparks national debate

A couple’s idea to bring the husband’s German mother-in-law to live in China sparked a debate about the decision. Photo: SCMP composite

Huang Fangli and her husband Gary have not seen Gary’s mother during the pandemic. Photo: Weibo

Huang was worried that Gary’s mum would not want to leave Germany. Photo: Weibo 

Love and courage in China: Gaokao police officer meets former teacher, a note from a passed loved one and a delivery driver becomes a hero

A police officer poses with his former teacher (left) and a not from a loved one is found in a quilt (right). Photo: SCMP composite

A police officer and his former teacher talk outside a school administering a gaokao exam. Photo: takefoto.cn

The handstitched note from a woman’s mother in law found in an old quilt. Photo: Baidu

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=== PHOTO CAPTURED FROM KUAISHOU === The cultural differences experienced by a New Zealand-Chinese family living in Sydney, Australia, have attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers in China, amused by the interactions between the Kiwi son-in-law and his Chinese mother-in-law.  Picture by kuaishou.com

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The couple, who lives in China, wanted to convince the husband’s mother to move to the country and live with them
The situation sparked a debate about whether it would be worth such a risk to make the mother move from Germany



A reality show situation where a couple in China suggested moving the German husband’s mother to live with them sparked a national debate.


China society