Before most men in China begin charting the dollars and cents of their marriage, they must first navigate the potentially costly affair of a “bride price”, offered to the family of their prospective brides.
That bill for one man in eastern Chinese province Zhejiang amounted to 9.98 million yuan (S$1.9 million) in cash, as well as gold bars and luxury watches he dispatched on Tuesday in an armoured truck to the home of his bride-to-be.
In a video that has been circulated online, the dowry was transferred in six safes brightly coloured in auspicious red shades by four professional escorts to the venue of their engagement, with the cash then sent to a bank to be deposited into his fiancee’s account.
Another photo revealed some of the safes’ contents, with stacks of cash, gold and some jewellery laid out on a table.
The exorbitant bride price, or cai li as it is known in China, drew reactions of envy and criticism online, according to the Global Times, although the groom-to-be attempted to play down his lavish display.
“This is a local custom, it is very common in Taizhou,” said the man identified by Chinese media only as Mr Yan, 30, referring to the Zhejiang city he and his fiancee call home.
He added that they are planning to tie the knot at the end of 2023.
Despite recent attempts by the government to rein in “bride prices”, the costly affair of marriages in China show little sign of abating.
The south-eastern province Jiangxi made headlines in January for topping a Xinhua ranking for its average bride prices, tagged at an auspicious 380,000 yuan, excluding other expected accompaniments such as a car and a house.
In February, a key Chinese policy document for 2023 set out the country’s plan to tackle sky-high bride prices and extravagant wedding ceremonies.
The move came as China recorded its first population decline since 1961.
But as is the testament of Mr Yan’s armoured cash truck in Zhejiang, the pricey custom dating back to the Han Dynasty millenniums ago may not be discarded overnight just yet.
