Marriage causing rural families to be plunged into debt for years

One's wedding day is often considered the happiest day of a person's life. The same can not be said for the parents of a groom in rural China, where saving face and social pressure often leave them in debt for years.

Wang Yueguo, from East China's Shandong province, managed to scrape together enough money to pay for his son's marriage last month. The wedding completely drained the family's savings and left them with a debt that will take a decade to repay.

"My son's marriage cost me more than 200,000 yuan ($29,000), including about 100,000 yuan that I borrowed from relatives and friends," said Wang, whose family earns about 30,000 yuan a year from farming.