Marriage is a sweet thing for two young people in love. However, such sweetness can sometimes be a heavy burden. "Sweeteners" such as apartments, cars, wedding photos and wedding banquets require a large sum of money. "Cannot afford to get married" has become a common refrain for more and more young people in China.

29-year-old Sun jing and her husband are from Beijing. They married in 2013. According to Sun, their marriage cost about 200,000 yuan, not including the house. They spent over 70,000 yuan on the marriage banquet in a three-star hotel, more than 30,000 yuan on the wedding planner, over 30,000 yuan on jewelry and a diamond ring, 6,000 yuan on wedding photos, and about 5,000 yuan on wedding clothes and shoes. Their honeymoon in Malaysia and Singapore cost them more than 20,000 yuan.

Sun Jing personally did not care about the wedding banquet. "But our parents wanted a wedding ceremony. It's a tradition in their eyes," said Sun.

If the apartment is taken into account, the marriage cost will be much higher. It is reported that the cost of Chinese marriage has increased by several thousand times in the last 30 years. Some netizens sigh, "My grandpa married grandma with only half a dou of rice(a dou, a unit of dry measure for grain, equals a decalitre), my father married mother with half a pig, now my marriage cost my parents half their lives!"

Due to the high cost of marriage, some young people have become the "NEET groups", while others turn to "naked marriage".

"Parents covering the marriage cost" has become the preferred choice for many young people. Statistics show that nearly half of newly-wed couples need theirparents to cover 20 to 60 percent of their marriage cost. About 14 percent of young people need 80 percent or even 100 percent support from their parents.

"When marriage becomes a luxury, the whole of society should be vigilant and reflect on ourselves." Some netizens point out young people should act according to their own abilities; love does not need to be proved by a grand wedding. Parents should not engage in blind comparisons; a harmonious family does not need a grand wedding. Love is precious, but marriage should not be expensive.

This article was edited and translated from 《中国人结婚成本30年增数千倍》, source: China Comment.