A new term has become popular recently among Chinese Internet users: "naked marriage". And no, this isn't a kinky new trend. In fact it refers to people who go against the grain here in China and get married before they own things like a car or house and without all the trappings of a full on marriage ceremony. These couples are happy simply with a photo of the two of them and a marriage certificate.
The trend has caused a lot of debate here in China, where owning a house and a car are seen by many as prerequisites to marriage. The China Youth Daily website has carried out a poll on this subject, asking people whether or not they support the idea of a naked marriage.
Authorities in the western Chinese city of Lanzhou are implementing a policy which forces developers to provide a certain percentage of affordable housing within any development they put on the market.
Law makers in Lanzhou are following the lead from another Chinese city, Wuhan, who have put in place similar regulations to ensure different areas of the city retain a mix of wealthy and poorer residents So will the new measures have any practical effect – and are they even feasible? That’s what we asked on today’s Straight from the Street?
While pre-nuptial agreements are increasingly common in the U.S., here in China marital contracts are rare. But they aren't unheard of.
Last week a couple from the southern province of Hunan hit the headlines when their marriage plans fell apart following the bride-to-be's insistence that her boyfriend sign a pre-nuptial agreement.
The contract stipulated that he would be fined the equivalent of nearly 30 thousand dollars if he was unfaithful. When he was presented with the pre-nuptial agreement, the man called off the marriage saying that if his fiancée didn't trust him, there was no point tying the knot.
We wanted to find out what other people think of signing pre-nuptial agreements. Here’s what people had to say in today's Straight from the Street.