Marriage

[Big read] From Egypt to Russia: Chinese men looking overseas for love

Facing steep bride prices and mounting pressures at home, some Chinese men are finding wives abroad. Three men share how marriages with women from Egypt, Indonesia and Russia reshaped their lives. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei speaks to the couples about their journeys.

Sim Tze Wei

No children, no regrets? Inside China’s first generation of childless ageing

As China’s first DINKs (“Dual Income, No Kids”) grow old, their lives are thrust into the spotlight. From a retired state-owned enterprise worker who says money and health are enough, to others who refuse to speak, their stories reveal pride, pain and unease beneath the debate, reports Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Liu Liu.

Liu Liu

[Big read] Love is hard to find for millions of rural Chinese men

The gender imbalance in China, especially in the rural areas, has resulted in many men not being able to find a partner. Some are still looking; others have given up and are resigned to being single. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Li Kang speaks to some of these single men about their views.

Li Kang

Why Chinese couples are renting wedding gold instead of buying it

Traditionally, the “three touches of gold” are a staple of Chinese weddings, typically purchased and kept. But a new trend in China sees couples doing something unexpected. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk takes a closer look.

China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao

Red banners and tea ceremonies: Inside the world of a Chinese wedding planner in Singapore

Despite Western influences, many young Singaporean couples choose to incorporate traditional Chinese customs into their wedding. Lianhe Zaobao senior correspondent Lee Geok Hoon speaks with Jenny Zheng, who has borne witness to marital unions in Singapore for the past 27 years. Beyond her role as a shopkeeper of wedding paraphernalia, Zheng is a guardian to this cultural heritage.

Lee Geok Hoon

Scam meals and broken hearts: The hidden cost of love in Hong Kong

A recent luxury dining scam in Hong Kong — where a man ditched a woman with a hefty bill — highlights a bigger story: a striking gender imbalance that is shaking up relationships and sparking unexpected twists in the city’s social scene. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Tai Hing Shing examines the issue.

Tai Hing Shing

[Big read] Marrying without love? China’s youth say yes to new marriages 

Amid Chinese women’s rising economic status and youth’s need for individual freedom, traditional forms of marriage are giving way to new arrangements such as cooperative marriages, AA marriages and two-sided marriages. Lianhe Zaobao China news correspondent Lim Zhan Ting speaks with couples and experts to find out the pros and cons of these modern forms of marriage.

Lim Zhan Ting

[Video] Dreaming with AI: Chinese women create online the life they long for

These aren’t real vlogs, but they feel real. Chinese netizens are using AI to recreate both the lives they live and the ones they long for. Though generated by machines, the emotions behind these pixels are unmistakably human, honest and more unfiltered than many real vlogs. ThinkChina’s Yi Jina looks at how everyday voices are being heard through these videos.

Yi Jina

China’s female comedians: Are men really listening?

China’s female comedians are firing up this year’s stand-up comedy stage with pointed and harsh truths about gender inequality. However, Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Li Kang asks, despite these women’s louder voices, are the men or society really listening?

Li Kang

Age of no return: The irreversible shifts in jobs, demographics and power

The era of major shifts is upon us and humanity is traversing into a world where the traditional notions of knowledge, labour, marriage, reproduction, and even geopolitics and territory are replaced by what technology brings, says Chinese academic Deng Xize.

Deng Xize

Love in the age of filters: My struggle with modern romance

In China, rates of birth and marriage are now at their lowest since the 1980s. Engineer and commentator Qin Pengfei — who is a bachelor himself — offers his thoughts on why fewer young adults in China are getting married today. 

Qin Pengfei

China’s youths fall out of love with marriage

Younger generations in China are increasingly shunning marriage, put off by the high costs of starting a family. To tackle the issue, the Chinese government may be better off focusing on boosting the sluggish economy, says Lianhe Zaobao China news editor Yang Danxu.

Yang Danxu