Chinese bride price and wedding need

女人撑起半边天，这是中国的毛主席曾经的一句名言。但是在中国，独生子女政策以及传统的“重男轻女”观念意味着新生婴儿的男女比例为117：100。据侧，这同样意味着每十年，两千四百万的中国男性将找不到另一半。
Women hold up half the sky, China's Chairman Mao famously said. But in China, the one-child policy and the traditional preference for boys mean that 117 boys are born for every 100 baby girls. By one estimate, this means there could be 24 million Chinese men unable to find wives by the end of the decade.

随着中国的经济发展，婚庆市场上的女性对房和车有了新需求。
As China's economy booms, the marriage market has become just that: a market, with new demands by women for apartments and cars.

如今，70%的中国女性认为男性应该在婚姻关系中提供房子。从经济角度来看，女性稀缺给了她们这样一个讨价还价的机会。正是这些女性的需求让中国的经济发展得更快。
Nowadays, 70 percent of Chinese women believe a man should provide an apartment, along with a marriage offer. In economic terms, the relative scarcity of women is giving them bargaining power. These women's demands are making China's economy grow even faster.

张晓波，北京大学的经济学教授说：“不断上升的性别比例带来了国民生产总值2%的增长。” 他同时还任职于国际食品政策研究所。
"Rising sex ratios contribute to two percentage points of GDP growth," says Xiaobo Zhang, a professor of economics at Peking University.

张晓波发现在性别比例不均的地区，有儿子的家庭容易不高兴，他们必须努力工作去承担所有贵重的聘礼——房子。
Zhang has found families with sons in areas with higher gender imbalances are more likely to be unhappy, and to have to work harder in order to be able to afford that all-important wedding gift — the apartment.
Key words：
聘礼pìn lǐ： bride price
红包hónɡ bāo： red packet
订婚dìnɡ hūn： engagement
伴娘/伴郎 bàn niánɡ / bàn lánɡ ：bridesmaid/groomsman

婚纱hūn shā： wedding dress
婚礼进行曲hūnlǐ jìnxínɡ qǔ： wedding march
牧师mù shī： priest
婚誓hūn shì vow
婚宴 hūn yàn：wedding party
蜜月mì yuè：honeymoon