Netizens Surprised That Ukrainian Woman Married Chinese Man ‘For Free’

Inesa and He Pingwei’s love story began in January 2016 when she was working as a translator in Beijing where she met He, according to NetEase (as translated by Shanghaiist).

Inesa was immediately attracted to He due to his kindhearted personality, while the man was taken by her cheerfulness. They fell in love soon after and traveled a lot together.

It wasn’t until late last year that the two decided to take their relationship to the next level. The couple applied and received their marriage certificate in October 2017.

What made people’s jaw dropped was the fact that the pre-wedding ceremony, called Guo Da Li, did not cost anything. Inesa’s side, probably due to cultural differences, did not ask He’s family for betrothal gifts.

In Chinese tradition, the husband must always give gifts to the wife’s family months before their actual wedding date. Gifts include a variety of items, including candy, cakes, liquor, jewelry or even cars and property from the parents of the groom to the bride and her family.

On top of the gifts, the husband’s family must also pay the bride’s family a certain amount, which is often referred to as a “bride’s dowry”.

The ceremony took place on Friday at the man’s hometown Yangcheng county in northern China’s Shanxi province – five months after they got their wedding certificate. According to the report, the event became the talk of the town.

Inesa’s parents and her friends reportedly flew to China to attend her wedding.

So far, the only plans that the newly weds announced were that they are going to stay in Yangcheng county, where they will begin their life as husband and wife.

He and Inesa’s love story isn’t too uncommon; in 2014, Mei Aisi, a Chinese businessman, went viral after his story on how he met his Ukrainian wife was picked up by several news outlets. A few years later, he started a matchmaking service called Culove Dating Club for Chinese men who also want to marry a Ukrainian woman just like him.

Images via NetEase