A growing number of young city dwellers1 are choosing to get married soon after they graduate from college

A growing number of young city dwellers are choosing to get married soon after they graduate from college, despite not being financially independent.

Last year, for example, Shanghai's Xuhui District Civil Affairs Bureau saw 1,221 college graduates aged² 22 to 24 tie the knot, up 50 percent on the previous year.

Of those, there were more newly graduated brides than there were grooms³, Xinhua said.

But without financial security, married life is no bed of roses, experts have said.

One young Beijing couple, for example, Liu Hao and Wang Ni, rely heavily on financial support from their parents, as their monthly outgoings surpass their income.

In addition, Liu's mother sometimes has to call to wake them for work, and she makes regular weekend visits to take care of their cooking, washing, cleaning and even pays their bills.

"Most of the young people who get married soon after graduating from college are from relatively⁴ well-off families, and they long for a stable and comfortable life.

"However, they still have a lot to learn from society before they are ready for marriage.

Sun Baohong, an expert with the Institute of Adolescents under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

Zhang Da, 24, who got married last summer just after graduating from a college in Tianjin

"I got married so early simply because my parents had already prepared an apartment for me.

"But I still pretended to be single at work, as colleagues my age are all single and it is a bit weird⁵ for them to know I am married. Also, I am afraid they would leave me out of social activities if they saw me as a family man.

"I don't think I am yet ready to accept my new identity as a married man."

Zhu Ke, 23, who got married at the end of last year after graduating from a college in Shanghai

"I felt great pressure to find a good job after graduation so I chose to marry a man who loves me and is willing to shoulder my burden.

"But it's still a bit weird when my former classmates talk about their new single lives at our get-togethers while I am worrying about things like how to pay for the house, when to visit his parents and even when to have a baby.

"The intimacy⁶ between me and my friends is vanishing, and I feel I am missing out on a period of time that should be the happiest for a girl my age."

"Getting married soon after graduation can result in both psychological and economic problems. A young couple have no idea of what difficulties may confront them in their work, their family life and even from society. Their impulsive⁷ decision to marry might well undermine the marriage in the long run.

Wu Zebin, a master's degree holder⁸ in sociology with Peking Universty