The Reality of Young People in Small Towns

Incomes rarely rise above the 4,000 to 5,000 range — sometimes dipping as low as 3,000 to 4,000 — making it hard for most to find a partner. Still, staying local tends to be easier than competing against higher-educated candidates in bigger cities.

Young people in small towns often spend their hard-earned salaries on dining out, entertainment, and other pleasures, leaving many with little to no savings.

Romance requires extra caution here: dates usually involve eating, drinking, and spending, and if the relationship fizzles out, that money is gone. Marriage brings even heavier costs — weddings typically run around 80,000 yuan, bride prices average 150,000, a car sets you back another 100,000, and a down payment on an apartment adds at least 250,000. These expenses alone can wipe out parents’ life savings, and it’s still not always enough.

Gender tensions are fairly pronounced in these communities. Women, heavily influenced by short-video platforms and aware of their relative scarcity, often feel they deserve better partners, which reinforces separate mindsets about staying single.

Cui Changjie | Small-Town Youth Trapped in a Death Spiral