While many Chinese rush into marriages, foreigners prefer to take their time.
很多国人闪婚,而老外却偏爱享受自己的时光。
The average marriageable age among Chinese was 27 years old in 2015. For those who stay single by 30, many are placed under tremendous pressure from family and society to find a spouse - any spouse - as soon as they can. But does this type of post-30 marriage pressure happen only in China? Are foreign societies more easygoing when it comes to the relationship between age and marriage? To gain some insight into such cultural differences, the Global Times recently spoke with foreigners in Shanghai about the marriage and mating rituals of their home countries.
Mexican Aramara Vizcaino has been living in Shanghai for four years. She said that the younger generations of her country tend to marry at between 25 and 30 years old.
She admitted that age matters in Mexico, as once women and men reach a certain age they tend to be less sought-after by men in the local dating and marriage scene.
Italian Luca and his 17-year-old German-citizen daughter Katarina are travelers. Katarina said that in Germany people tend to get married around 25, but Luca said that in Italy the average marriageable age is much later.
Colombia national Juan Felipe Cadena said the average age for people of his country to marry is around 28.
哥伦比亚人胡安·菲利普·卡德纳说道,哥伦比亚人们的平均结婚年龄约为28岁。
He stipulated that when Colombian men and women pass 28, finding a spouse becomes more difficult for them. "I mean, even just from the perspective of having children it will be more difficult," he added.
Brazilians Claudio Muller and Edward Guilherme, who are currently traveling in Shanghai, were legally married under their country’s same-sex marriage law, which was passed in 2013 by the National Council of Justice. But they said that they did not feel any age pressure to get (or not get) married.
"In Brazil we have a very open culture. We usually don’t have the pressure of marriage; many people live together without getting married anymore," Muller said, with Guilherme adding that age has little to do with a Brazilian person’s popularity in their marriage market.
Hans Rosling from Sweden said that many people in his country don’t ever marry and, if they do, it’s often after they turn 30.
来自瑞典的汉斯·罗斯林说道,瑞典很多人都不结婚,如果结婚,往往也是在30岁之后。
Willy argued that age shouldn’t be a limitation for marriage. "It is more about proving that you are ready. When you prove yourself ready to have a man or woman in your life, that’s the right age," he said.