Electrical Appliances and Bride Price

Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province: In China poorer times, such gifts were simple housewares such as bedding and furniture, according to Global Times China. As the economy of the 20th century opened up, so did these gifts, which in the 1980s included "luxurious" electrical appliances like a television or refrigerator. But back in my hometown in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, I feel I could easily fetch at least 160,000 yuan "bride price." Bride price is a deeply rooted tradition in Chinese culture, whereby the bridegroom family must offer betrothal gifts to the woman family if he wishes to obtain her hand in marriage. Today, however, a bride price is usually paid with cold hard cash, which can range as high as a million yuan in metropolises like Shanghai. For families with a daughter, the bride price is seen as a sort of monetary safety net - and a return on their initial investment of raising and schooling her - for parents who are ostensibly giving away their only child to another family. Each region also has their own methods of determining a woman bride price, sometimes only according to their appearance or height or, more lately, their education or family background. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.