Source: Hi Shanghai
Shanghai may be part of the top 50 most expensive cities to live in the world, but it is not the most expensive city in China to get married. And it is not Beijing either. China’s capital may have placed only 55 in ECA International’s cost of living ranking as compared to Shanghai which placed 46th, however it is said to rank second in the expensive-to-get-married-city scale in China.
Getting Married In Shanghai
1. Decent housing (80 square meters and above) with an average price of RMB 20,100 per square meter; RMB 20,100 x 80 = RMB 1,608,000.
2. Renovation and interior design for a 100-square-meter floor area; RMB 150,000.
3. Household appliances and furniture; RMB 100,000 (though some women get this in the form of dowry).
4. An ordinary car; RMB 100,000.
5. Wedding banquet with 25 tables in an average-star hotel; RMB 1,000 x 25 = RMB 25,000. Subtract to that the RMB 1,200 average wedding money (hongbao) you will get per table. You get to at least keep RMB 1,200 x 25 = RMB 5,000.
6. Honeymoon to Hong Kong or Macau with the main destination to Hainan; RMB 6,000 travel expenses per person thus for both husband and wife- RMB 6,000 x 2 = RMB 12,000.
7. Courting stage for 2 years. This includes going out on dates, buying of gifts, entertainment, travel, giving of gifts to girlfriend’s parents. Average of RMB 1,800 per month. So for 2 years- RMB 1,800 x 12 months x 2 years = RMB 43,200.
In summary, total cost is RMB 1,608,000 + RMB 150,000 + RMB 100,000 + RMB 100,000 – RMB 5,000 + RMB 12,000 + RMB 43, 200 = RMB 2,008,200.
Getting Married In Beijing
1. Decent housing near the 6th Ring Road (80 square meters and above) with an average price of RMB 20,000 per square meter; RMB 20,100 x 80 = RMB 1,600,000. In Beijing, prices of real estate inside the ring road are considerably higher than other parts of town.
2. Renovation and interior design for a 100-square-meter floor area; RMB 150,000.
3. Household appliances and furniture; RMB 80,000 (though some women get this in the form of dowry).
4. Standard car; RMB 120,000. (The Hyundai Elantra is preferred.)
5. Wedding banquet with 200 guests (20 tables) in a 4-star hotel; RMB 200 x 200 = RMB 40,000. Subtract to that the RMB 2,000 average wedding money (hongbao) you will get per table. And you just break even.
6. Honeymoon. Beijingers refused to go to Hong Kong or Macau or Hainan. Instead, they will go to Australia or Europe or the Maldives spending around RMB 10,000 per person. So total honeymoon trip will cost around RMB 30,000.
7. Courting stage for 2 years. This includes going out on dates, buying of gifts, entertainment, travel, giving of gifts to girlfriend’s parents. Average of RMB 2,000 per month. So for 2 years- RMB 2,000 x 12 months x 2 years = RMB 48,000.
In summary, total cost is RMB 1,600,000 + RMB 150,000 + RMB 80,000 + RMB 120,000 + RMB 30,000 + RMB 48,000 = RMB 2,028,000.
Getting Married In Shenzhen
The most expensive is said to be in Shenzhen. However, this information might not be so true anymore if we based it on housing prices alone (given the housing crisis in China). Before, the price per square meter can reach up to RMB 22,300. But the property prices in Shenzhen (just north of Hong Kong) have dropped sharply in the last couple of months which is the largest property decline across China.
Anyway, what do you think of the figures above? How realistic are they? Is getting married in China a not so realistic option?
That might be the price of a pad in Shanghai, if you live at the wrong end of the metro line! 3 bed place in Songhong Lu (midpoint between Zhongshan Park and Hongqiao airport) gonna cost you a cool RMB 3,500,000 – and this is just the where the city realistically starts.
As for home deco, we paid over RMB 500,000 for ours and bought some big-ticket stuff from Ikea (although the inlaws went a bit mad and did the kitchen in Siemens). Even if you take out the RMB 10,000 chairs my wife bought, I honestly believe that you can’t decorate a flat in SH for less than RMB 300,000, even if you buy the nastiest gold and glass decorations from the basement stores at Macalline’s decoration palace.
House price is on the high side, but still reasonable. You don’t need a car or big banquet or so much money for decorating and stuff. I spent much less. It always amazes me that people think some stuff is the bare minimum to survive, they seem overly materialistic. There is a difference between nice to have or required.
Evaluation is rather realistic.
In both cases the price of apartment makes 80% of expenditures, and unless it is not a “naked” wedding – there is no way to marry a girl without having a house.
I’m sorry but this article has almost nothing to do with getting married at all.
I’d say the apartment price and actual banquet prices are pretty accurate. A car, though, isn’t necessary to getting married and a lot of couples do without it, at least starting out, so I think that can be taken out. Also, if you choose to buy a 2nd hand apartment, the cost of renovations and appliances can drop dramatically.
While these are the costs, the couple getting married often won’t pay all of them, parents will almost always pay for the banquet and those with money might even pop for the honeymoon. Then again, when the parents pay for the banquet, they’ll often keep the hongbaos for themselves (or only give the couple the “profits”).
Luckily when a foreigner marries a Chinese girl they can forgo buying the house and car in China as they will be going back to their home country. And they can delay the honeymoon. . . So it is much much cheaper. .. Except after they return to their country. . marriage counselling will empty their savings account ;)
I really can’t agree with Baoru on this issue. Guess only few young people can get married nowadays in big cities of China if money determines!
Since prices in china continue to raise from the later half of 2010 until now, which affects everybody and every aspect of life, including home, food, cars, I think Chinese people especially those “middle class” Chinese are becoming more difficult.