Jaaja (expat in China)

In China's rural areas it is custom that the daughter leaves to live with the husband and his family, effectively in single-child household leaving the daughter's parents to take care of themselves. Common exception to this occurs, if the husband has elder brother who is already married - then the second son would go with his wife instead.

While China's law requires the married daughter and husband to also support her parents that she no longer lives with, there is no guarantee that this happens. If the husband spends all his money on gambling, alcohol and tobacco, there is nothing to spare.

From this perspective it is understandable, if small-scale farmer parents of the daughter to be married set a relatively high price for her daughter's departure.

There are actually regulations to forbid this practice, but just as with fore mentioned support required towards left-behind parents, this also is not very much enforced.

Paul from Austria displays the hongbaos in Hanshan county, Ma'anshan, Anhui province on Dec 31, 2012.[Photo/IC]