In Chinese culture, after engagement, a man has to give the bride's family a betrothal gift, known as Caili in Chinese, to get married.

A photo shows a typical betrothal gift in China, bundles of cash. [Photo: china.com.cn]

Nowadays, the Caili tradition has become more like a commercial transaction, and can place a heavy financial burden on grooms, especially in rural areas.

So exactly how much do you have to pay to get married in China? According to Mr. Chen from Shangdong Province the minimum price is around 100,000 yuan or about 15,320 U.S. dollars.

"Many grooms in Shangdong's rural areas have to take a loan to marry their brides. They borrow 100-200 thousand yuan to pay the "bride prices". And that's just part of the Caili. The groom's family sometimes has to own a commercial property in the center of a county which on average costs over 4,000 yuan per square meter."

However, simply having the money is no guarantee that a bachelor will find a good bride. In Henan province, matchmakers often evaluate the man's family background, appearance and education.

Zhang Yi, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says there are three main reasons for higher levels of Caili in China's rural areas.

"First is the demographic structure – there are fewer women than men in China's rural areas. The competition in rural China's marriage market is getting more intense. That's also caused by migration – more and more women of marriageable age leave their homes to work in urban areas. Thirdly is the Caili culture itself, the bride's family would ask for more Caili to look good while the groom would pay more to show they are capable of marrying better brides."

Some bachelors, who don't have the financial means to secure a bride in rural China, are even turning to agencies in Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar to buy a spouse, because it's cheaper.

Zhang Yi with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences believes the real issue behind the rising Caili is poverty in rural China.

"In the process of urbanization, more and more people migrate from the countryside to the cities. Then rural areas become empty shells. With the aging population, we will see a bigger development gap between rural and urban areas. I think we need to find ways to narrow this gap. This is the real issue behind the rising Caili."

Zhang Yi also estimates that in the next ten years bachelors in China's rural areas will find it even more difficult find a bride due to the gender imbalance and increasing competition in the marriage market.

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