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Want to marry your girlfriend in China? Better buy a house first.
Facing ever-rising housing prices in China, only 18 percent of mothers said in a recent survey that they were willing to let their daughters marry men who only rent their homes.
The survey, by Beijing-based 5i5j Real Estate Service, was conducted in response to the debate on whether mothers-in-law are contributing to the rise in housing prices across the country.
In China, mothers have a great influence on whom their daughters marry. Usually, mothers prefer their daughters marry men who can afford a house before marriage.
Future mothers-in-law in Beijing were more lenient about their daughters marrying renters, where 27 percent would be willing to give the nod of approval to a man without an apartment. That number fell to 15 percent in Tianjin and only 12 percent in Shanghai.
"Our survey shows that quite a few would-be mothers-in-law in China are becoming flexible on the issue of their future sons-in-law buying homes," said Qin Rui, a senior analyst with the real estate service.
About 20 percent of mothers-in-law would accept having their sons-in-law living under the same roof, the survey showed.
The survey was conducted from Feb 23 to March 1, based on 2,000 questionnaires on 5i5j's website and its branches in eight cities in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanjing, Taiyuan, Ningbo, Suzhou and Hangzhou.
Questions:
1. Who might be contributing to the rise in housing prices in China?
2. What city has the most lenient would-be mothers-in-law?
3. Who conducted the online survey?
Answers:
1. Mothers.
2. Beijing.
3. 5i5j Real Estate Service.
(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)
About the broadcaster:
Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the US, including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is fluent in Korean and has a 2-year-old son.