A growing number of young city dwellers are choosing to get married
soon after they graduate from college, despite not being financially
independent.
Last year, for example, Shanghai's Xuhui District Civil Affairs Bureau
saw 1,221 college graduates aged 22 to 24 tie the knot, up 50 percent on
the previous year.
Of those, there were more newly graduated brides than there were
grooms, Xinhua said.
But without financial security, married life is no bed of roses,
experts have said.
One young Beijing couple, for example, Liu Hao and Wang Ni, rely
heavily on financial support from their parents, as their monthly
outgoings surpass their
income.
In addition, Liu's mother sometimes has to call to wake them for work,
and she makes regular weekend visits to take care of their cooking,
washing, cleaning and even pays their bills.
"Most of the young people who get married soon after graduating from
college are from relatively well-off families, and they long for a stable
and comfortable life.
"However, they still have a lot to learn from society before they are
ready for marriage.
Sun Baohong, an expert with the Institute of Adolescents under the
Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences
Zhang Da, 24, who got married last summer just after graduating from a
college in Tianjin
"I got married so early simply because my parents had already prepared
an apartment for me.
"But I still pretended to be single at work, as colleagues my age are
all single and it is a bit weird for them to know I am married. Also, I am
afraid they would leave me out of social activities if they saw me as a
family man.
"I don't think I am yet ready to accept my new identity as a married
man."
Zhu Ke, 23, who got married at the end of last year after graduating
from a college in Shanghai
"I felt great pressure to find a good job after graduation so I chose
to marry a man who loves me and is willing to shoulder my burden.
"But it's still a bit weird when my former classmates talk about their
new single lives at our get-togethers while I am worrying about things
like how to pay for the house, when to visit his parents and even when to
have a baby.
"The intimacy between me and my friends is vanishing, and I feel I am
missing out on a period of time that should be the happiest for a girl my
age."
"Getting married soon after graduation can result in both psychological
and economic problems. A young couple have no idea of what difficulties
may confront them in their work, their family life and even from society.
Their impulsive decision to marry might well undermine the marriage in the
long run.
Wu Zebin, a master's degree holder in sociology with Peking
Universty