¿MUERTO el MATRIMONIO en China? 240 MILLONES de SOLTEROS prefieren LIBERTAD antes que DEUDAS

Is marriage dead in China? 240 million singles prefer freedom over debt. China has officially entered an era of super singles. According to the latest data from 2024, only 6.1 million couples registered to get married, which represents a dramatic drop of 20.5% compared to the previous year, setting a new historical minimum. More than 240 million Chinese are single, and as birth rates drop and mentalities change, it is expected that this figure will continue to increase. Many men now wonder, why burden themselves with the costs of marriage if I can hire help and order food at home? Meanwhile, women question, if I earn my own money, why have children for another? The generation after the 90s is actively choosing singles. The ones born after 2000. Many don't even date. The previously considered essential marriage is losing relevance, especially among men. Chinese men are increasingly resorting to what is known as revenge singles. Gender imbalance is marked. There are more than 30 million single men than women, with a national proportion of 13 men for every 9 women. In rural areas, the gap is even more extreme, 13 for every 2. However, the blind date scenario reflects another reality. According to jiajuan.com, an important dating platform, the male-female ratio in its face-to-face events reaches 1 to 5.6. In offline meetings, the disparity is even more outrageous, 1 to 43 in Chengdu, 11 to 18 in Shenzhen, 40 in Hangzhou, and 1 to 36 in Nanchang. In a recent event in Guangzhou, women paid 500 yuan to enter, men entered for free, and even received gifts. More than 1,000 well-dressed women attended, generating 500,000 yuan for the organizers. Less than 50 men attended. The event became more of a social gathering than a space to find a partner. Even as Valentine's Day approaches, on May 20, more and more men choose not to get married. What used to be a rite of passage, today is a burden that many avoid. One of the reasons? The cost. Whether on blind dates or in traditional relationships, financial gestures are expected in a few months. Capital has imposed a narrative, if you don't spend, you don't love. When we talk about marriage, it is when the expenses really begin, and almost always fall on the family of the man. Surveys show that 80% of men feel pressured by material expectations. Even in smaller cities, the costs of commitment are overwhelming. Weddings themselves usually cost between 500,000 and 900,000 yuan. An expert in the nuptial sector in Dalian debunked the figures. This is how a typical wedding budget looks like in Dalian. Banquet, 15 tables at 3,000 yuan each, 45,000 yuan for place and decoration, 20,000 yuan for photography, master of ceremonies, makeup, 10,000 yuan for rent, 20,000 yuan for caravan, Maybach, Mercedes, 36,180 yuan, floral arrangements and recording car, 4,000 to 5,000 yuan, alcohol, cigarettes and sweets, 3,000 yuan, food and accommodation for guests, additional rent for the nuptial room, 1,500 to 3,000 yuan, decoration and accessories for the new house, 800 yuan. Total, around 113,700 yuan. Even with a strict budget, staying below 100,000 is almost impossible. With this reality, many men feel disillusioned. When the cost of marriage exceeds its emotional value, demand falls. But it is not only men who move away. Many women also do. Mrs. Liu, a 32-year-old professional who earns 350,000 yuan a year, has attended more than 20 blind dates without finding a partner. She says that many men expect her to leave her job to raise children. We can't even have a real conversation, much less agree on values. She says, everything is transactions. People forget that the connection is the core of marriage. Why does everything feel so different now? Because three key groups have faced a hard truth. The rich have realized that not investing means not losing, and thus they avoid risk. The middle class saw that avoiding business and children leads to a stable life. Young people discovered that skipping marriage and mortgages equals freedom. This financial and cultural awakening has reformed the reality of China. When marriage becomes a luxury and love is measured in money, moving away is not a rebellion. It is the reason. In today's China, choosing solitude is not giving up love. It is redefining it. The rich are left to be discovered. The banquet of 20,000 yuan ruined everything. In China, the dream wedding begins to look more like a nightmare. As social expectations collide with economic realities, love becomes a test. Not for feelings, but for the price. What happens when romance faces numbers? A recent debate program revealed the deep division. In a popular Chinese program, a future girlfriend told a marital conflict that quickly became a heated discussion. What began as a budgetary difference ended up reflecting values, pride and class tensions. I have a boyfriend. We have talked about getting married for a year, but we could not agree on the cost of the banquet. Let me guess. Your family wants to spend more and yours does not. Exactly. How much does your family want per table? 20,000 yuan. And yours? 15,000 yuan. Why 20,000? Sincerely, out of vanity. My family wants it to look impressive. Does his family have financial problems? They are normal. They have a house with a mortgage, but he earns well. I just hate my family's arrogant attitude. But I feel that, after so many years, my daughters deserve an elegant wedding. I would suggest staying with the option of 15,000 yuan. Why pretend to be rich? Is your family rich? I care about money, but it's also a matter of pride. I know it's not right. Your family is practical. Mine is arrogant. Have you registered to get married? Not yet. Then don't do it. Sincerely, do you really need a banquet of 20,000 yuan? I would like to know your opinion. I think it's unnecessary. You are not thinking as a couple. You are trapped in your own point of view. If my son had a fiancée like you, I would tell him to leave him. You are not building a real relationship. So, what do you mean by different values, different priorities, money, lifestyle, mentality? That will end up bringing problems. Maybe you should look for someone who wants to spend 30,000 yuan per table. Your family would love that. I just want my first marriage to look respectable. But yes, both families should understand each other. Do you understand your family? They are being realistic. You haven't even gotten married and you're already showing off. Wishing for luxury that you can't afford? It's embarrassing. Your family works hard and lives with simplicity. You are not in the same tune. What do you do for a living? I work at a bank. And him? He is in medical school. I think he has a master's degree. So, you don't even know what he does for a living. You are lucky to have him. He probably graduated from an elite university and you are almost at the end of your rope in your job. A 15,000 yuan banquet is fine. And if your family is so rich that they pay extra tables, I'm going to tell you about a boss of my company. His daughter graduated from the Ivy League. She married a rural boy who became an expert in IA. The father gave her a card with a million yuan for her to buy a house and told her to say that she had earned it so that her husband would feel proud. That's class. That's generosity. At the wedding, the father-in-law's peasants were treated like family. Do your parents think like that? Your family is obsessed with appearances and does not respect the part of the boyfriend. My advice? Break. Look for someone who fits your values and your vanity. So, your suggestion is? Break. You are not compatible. Be smart. Stop pretending. You earn 10,000 yuan a month and you want a 20,000 yuan wedding per table. It's ridiculous. He will find another without a problem. You? At 30 years old. Think about it. Many people still do not understand a crucial truth. Love and marriage are not the same, especially women in modern China. Three years ago, a woman born in 1995 came to me in search of help to find a partner. At 27 years old, she was tall, thin and considered very attractive. She had worked as a presenter on live broadcasts, earning between 7,000 and 40,000 yuan a month. But her expectations were very high. Her ideal man should measure more than 1.80 meters, earn at least 1 million yuan a year, have a luxury apartment opposite the lake, drive a G-Wagon, wear designer brands and practice sports such as golf and skiing. When I asked her why, she replied, My ex was like that. He gave me a Hermes bag and gave me a monthly payment. Why should I settle for less than someone with whom I only went out? I asked her how that relationship ended. She admitted that it lasted a year. His family did not approve of his work and he ended up marrying someone chosen by his parents. I was sincere. Rich men rarely marry live stream presenters. If he did not lower his standards, it would be almost impossible to find a partner. She left disappointed. Three years later, she contacted me again, now at 30 years old and with a more realistic vision. He said he would consider someone who earned 500,000 yuan a year. But the dating market, and her, had already changed. Many women freeze their expectations at 20, hoping that their future partners equal an ex-idealized, without recognizing how time affects their own value in the sentimental market. It is a hard truth. Beauty fades, time advances, and high standards without self-awareness lead to disappointment. In today's China, weddings are not just about promises. They are about value, class, and money. As tradition collides with modern pressure, one thing is clear, love alone is not enough. And if the commitment costs more than it is worth, more and more young people could choose to move away, not from love, but from marriage itself. The lychees thrown away, like garbage. A 90% collapse in prices. The price has fallen. Don't bring them, I don't want them. Lychees are completely devalued, piled up like mountains. It doesn't matter the type or the price. Just three words, nobody wants them. Look at these blueberries thrown away, at least 1,000 kilos a day, simply discarded. The south of China, especially Guangdong and Guangxi, is experiencing a record harvest of lychees. But far from prosperity, prices have plummeted due to the economic recession. According to the Nanguanqiao market, lychee premium varieties have fallen between 70% and 90% since early May. It's not just about over-supply, it's a reflection of the collapse in demand and consumer purchasing power. Concerns about high-tech treatments applied to fruits are also increasing, some with harmful chemicals, which has generated alarm among consumers. Videos are everywhere, farmers and sellers lamenting the collapse. In many places, prices are below 1 yuan per jin, some as low as 60 or 70 cents. Unable to cover costs, many farmers are abandoning the fruit. Lychees rot along the roads or are used as food for animals. Even the precious black-leaf lychees from Maoming, at 10 yuan for 10 jin, are not found by buyers. It's very difficult to sell lychees. I arrived at 5 in the morning and still had to queue. Today's price? Only 1.1 yuan. By 2025, Chinese production of lychees could reach 2.2 million tons. But high labor costs, poor storage and falling prices make the model unsustainable. Experts estimate that between 20% and 30% of the fruit, up to 600,000 tons, could be wasted. Buyers offer between 50 and 70 cents per kilo. They are already considered garbage. Some fruits are not even worth picking, they just rot. In Guangxi, watermelons are sold for only 0.2 yuan per pound. In Changtan, lychees are offered at 1 yuan per pound. A group picked 200 pounds in the rain and earned only 220 yuan. The fruit is not bad, it's just worthless. Harvesting it does not compensate for labor, so it rots. The cost of fertilizers goes up. We work long hours under the heat and insects hoping for a good harvest. But there is no joy, only losses. This year's fruit trade challenges logic. Expensive fruit is not sold, cheap fruit does not give benefits. Each sale is a loss. Merchants only compete to see who can take it longer. Look at this store, not a single customer. It's 5.30 pm, which used to be rush hour. Look at the fruit. On the other side of the street, floors are sold for 70,000 to 80,000 yuan per square meter. And no sign of people. The store operates with losses. Behind every wasted lychee and every empty store, there is a story of effort and lost hope. The fruit is ripe, but the market and the moment are not. The trees are full, but the pockets are empty. In today's China, even abundance can feel like a failure. When hard work leads to rotten fruit and empty stores, it's not just a market crisis. It's a warning.