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Nuptial costs to leave your stomach tied in knots

China Daily | Updated: 2007-03-06 07:18

Nuptial costs to leave your stomach tied in knots

Chinese couples are spending a fortune on wedding-related items and services. Chen Xiaogen

China's newly-weds are shelling out an average 125,000 yuan ($16,000) more than the couple make in a year on wedding related items and services, according to a report.

Citing a recent survey of the country's marriage-related industries, Sunday's Beijing Morning Post said that a study of nearly 60,000 couples showed that more than 70 percent of the spending goes on durables such as furniture and home appliances.

The wedding itself the ceremony, photography, wedding gowns, the honeymoon and jewelry accounted for less than 20,000 yuan ($2,560), 15.5 percent of the total, and analysts claim there is room for growth there.

The wedding feast accounted for the rest of the spending.

But the costs don't stop with the ceremony and new furniture. Chinese people tend to regard an apartment as indispensable for starting a family while cars have become affordable for many and are a key status symbol.

According to the survey, overall marriage spending reached a whopping 557,478 yuan ($71,215) if it includes the purchase of an apartment and a car.

The sums involved are huge for newly-weds, as 86 percent of those interviewed earn less than 8,000 yuan ($1,026) a month.

Forty-seven percent of the newly-weds interviewed admitted that 20-60 percent of the marriage-related spending came from their parents, while a minority of 14 percent relied on their parents to stump up 80-100 percent of the cost.

The survey also showed that newly-weds in Shanghai and eastern China tend to spend more on decorating their apartments, while Beijingers and other northerners prefer to spend more on wedding photography, wedding feasts and honeymoons.

Xinhua

(China Daily 03/06/2007 page19)

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