In modern-day China, the path to marriage is increasingly paved with gold — and real estate. The financial demands placed on prospective grooms have reached staggering levels, pushing many Chinese men to look beyond their borders for love.
Sun Yan, a 34-year-old accountant from Fujian province, recently abandoned his hopes of marrying a local woman after she demanded a dowry package worth around 400,000 yuan (£41,000), including a flat, cash, and gold jewelry. “I was ready to marry the girl I was dating,” he told The Times UK. “But she wanted such a big price… I just didn’t have it.”
Now standing on the Russian border, 1,700 miles from home, Sun is weighing his options. “I think I will try Vladivostok first, then elsewhere in Russia’s far east,” he said. “If not there, I will go to Ukraine. Moscow women look down on Chinese men.”
Sun is not alone. According to The Times UK, he is part of a growing trend among Chinese men turning to Russia and post-Soviet states in their search for a spouse. The appeal is clear: lower financial expectations, a perceived abundance of women, and the belief that Slavic brides are more amenable to marriage.
China’s severe gender imbalance — a legacy of the now-defunct one-child policy and a long-standing cultural preference for sons — has created a society with 35 million more men than women. Meanwhile, expectations for dowries continue to rise, with even rural weddings often requiring gifts worth up to 600,000 yuan.
This imbalance, coupled with shifting social dynamics — more educated, financially independent Chinese women less inclined to marry — has helped fuel a quiet exodus of bachelors. Many seek brides in Russia, where an estimated ten million more women than men reside, though that figure is skewed by differences in mortality rates at older ages.
“I know there’s a war going on, so there are just more women,” Sun explained. “That’s why I’m going to try my luck.”
A small industry has emerged around this phenomenon. On Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, marriage agents openly advertise matchmaking services with Russian and Ukrainian women. Online chat groups are bustling with advice from men who have taken the plunge or plan to do so. One man, Ah Guan from Hebei province, even chronicled his journey to Ukraine to find a wife. “For old leftover single men like me, we can only charge forward,” he said in a video. “There’s no turning back.”
However, the rise in transnational marriages is not without controversy. National pride and sensitivity around issues of sex trafficking have made the topic a lightning rod. One Chinese academic who suggested the government support overseas marriages faced online backlash from women, even as many men applauded the idea.
Despite the criticism, data suggests transnational marriages have been steadily rising — paused only by the COVID-19 pandemic. In Russia and its eastern regions, where poverty has historically driven women to seek partners abroad, the influx of Chinese workers has led to more cross-border unions.
Elena Barabantseva, a Belarusian academic at the University of Manchester who is writing a book on transnational marriages, noted that the dynamics are often complicated. “There is a media construction of Russian women as less emancipated and making good housewives,” she said. Yet many Russian women who move to China for economic opportunity find themselves underemployed and marry for security.
The outcome of these unions varies. While some end in disappointment or divorce due to cultural and communication barriers, others succeed. “I have interviewed over 50 such women married to Chinese men,” Barabantseva told The Times UK. “Some go through difficulties but it’s possible to have a stable and happy marriage in China.”
As for Sun Yan, he remains optimistic. “I don’t mind living in Russia or coming back to China,” he said. “I just want to find someone who wants to be with me — not my money.”
