Why people in China are pretending to get married - What in the World podcast, BBC World Service

Video Description

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? Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM 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. 00:11 Intro 01:04 What does ‘marriage buddy’ mean? 02:33 The marriage buddy experience 04:39 Why are people taking this route 07:19 Is this becoming popular? 08:19 How much do parents know? 09:02 Are there legal benefits? 09:55 What if a person falls in love with someone else 10:45 Is this common in other countries? 12:09 Do people use it to hide their sexual orientation? 13:21 Goodbyes Watch more episodes from What in the World here 👉🏽 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4eMOlGZclzdcHmv7s8BFQE6 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 ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽 https://www.instagram.com/bbcworldservice Twitter 👉🏽 https://twitter.com/bbcworldservice Facebook 👉🏽 https://facebook.com/bbcworldservice BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService #marriage #friendmarriage #china