Why people in China are pretending to get married

What in the World

• Episode: Why people in China are pretending to get married
• Website: What in the World
• Feed URL: https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/w13xtvrv.rss
• Duration: 00:11:55
• Published: 2025-07-15 15:30

Across cultures, weddings are usually a big event. Lots of us look forward to dressing up and dancing the night away with the person we love — but what if you kept all the festivities and got rid of the romance? Well, some young people in China are doing exactly that, by looking online for a ‘marriage buddy’. They pretend to be together to please their families, but aren’t actually legally married. So, why are they willing to go to such lengths to meet societal expectations? And how does it all work?

Wanqing Zhang from the BBC’s Global China Unit talks us through the process — and explains the pressure put on young people in China to tie the knot. And we hear from Linda, a young woman in China who tells us why she’s decided to find a marriage buddy.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Iqra Farooq Producers: Chelsea Coates, Mora Morrison and Maria-Clara Montoya Video Journalist: Baldeep Chahal and Jem Westgate Editor: Julia Ross-Roy