Buying an apartment and meeting parents’ expectations are no longer major priorities. BEIJING – For 24-year-old Lu Yinggui, marrying her boyfriend of three years was as much about trust and taking an unconventional approach as it was romance. The married couple, both former real estate employees, opted to buy a secondhand home in the suburbs of Changsha, Hunan province, with a mortgage loan. The apartment is solely in Lu’s name. “Rent was 1,400 yuan ($193) monthly; our mortgage is 2,400. For an extra 1,000 yuan, we own the walls we live in,” she said. Their trust-based approach to marriage also meant they skipped prenuptial health checks and bride price negotiations. “I did not want to turn marriage into a business, so there was no awkward discussion of the bride price,” she said. “My top priority for the person I was going to marry is his character, and I think he is a trustworthy person,” she said. “When we decided to buy the small apartment, he decided to put it only under my name and he sometimes still jokes that the house does not belong to him.” Their marriage is not without testing moments, as Lu is unemployed at the moment. However, the couple have not quarreled over the issue, and Lu said she is going to get a job soon because “no person in their right mind can expect another person to support you unconditionally, not with all the love in the world.” In a rapidly changing China, marriage is no longer a straightforward process, but a complex equation balancing love, economics, and generational expectations. From pragmatic decisions such as the need for a city apartment as a prerequisite for marriage, to unions bonded by only love — young couples are redefining matrimony with a mix of cool calculations and emotional vulnerability. As demographics shift and economic pressures mount, their choices sketch a portrait of a generation determined to approach marriage on their own terms. Lucky thirteen After a 13-year marathon relationship Hunan-native Li Chenxi and her Beijing partner finally decided to get married. His parents did not agree with him marrying a woman not from Beijing, so they opposed the relationship for a long time. However, they persisted, and his parents finally changed their mind and gave them their blessings, Li said. Preparing for the marriage has been very smooth as they have been together for a long time and have already overcome conflicts, she said The couple have recently bought an apartment together, ending their life of renting in Beijing. “I think owning your own home is very important. I wouldn’t spend money on home decorations and buying good stuff when living in a rented house. But now I am eager to receive new deliveries every day, and look forward to married life together,” she said. Conditional love Influencer culture has birthed a new marital hazard — fans who cross boundaries. For 29-year-old He Ting from Changsha, her fiance’s career as a livestreaming gamer has meant sleepless nights monitoring […]
6天前
更多marriage
