Men in China are being priced out of marriage

Expensive pre-wedding gifts are making it impossible for many Chinese men to get married, China Youth Daily reported on Wednesday.

In China, men are expected to present a wedding gift to their prospective brides before the wedding, the costs of which have risen sharply. The average gift is more than 100,000 yuan ($16,140), and in some places, this figure shoots up to 300,000 ($48,173). However, in Pingliang and Qingyang, cities in Gansu province, ECNS reports "the average net annual income of local rural residents in 2012 was only 4,210 yuan, meaning a villager would have to save for more 23 years without any other spending to afford the expensive gifts".

Women who receive many pre-wedding gifts are considered beautiful and virtuous according to traditional Chinese folklore. What's more, a decrease in fertility within China means that the woman's parents are reliant upon the presents to support them in old age. However, the pressure to give expensive gifts has led to many rural men borrowing money for extortionate wedding costs, and then once again becoming poor after paying.

In Zhenzhou, Hunan province, one man gave his now fiancee a Ferrari after she agreed to marry him. 

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