HANGZHOU - A proposal to bring down the cost of weddings in Tongxiang City, east China's Zhejiang Province has become something of a talking point on the internet. The proposal called for newly-weds to restrict their cost of wedding meals to no more than 1,500 yuan (about 220 U.S. dollars) per table, which can usually accommodate 10 guests. The proposal also seeks to end long motorcades, expensive gifts, and big "hongbao" (gift money). Crazily expensive wedding ceremonies are still common in some parts of China, Many believe the the bigger the banquet, the happier the marriage. Chen Liang, 26, had a just such a wedding. With a salary of just 4,000 yuan, his wedding cost the family over 470,000 yuan. Almost half the money was borrowed. Chen's story is quite normal. The aim of spending tens of thousands of yuan on a wedding sometimes is surprisingly simple -- to save face. Chen Miaolin, chairman of New Century Tourism Group told Xinhua his hotels tried to introduce a wedding meal that consisted of six dishes and one soup per table, but the customers insisted they one 12 dishes and one soup. "About one-third of the food usually ends up wasted," Chen said. So came the proposal in Tongxiang, which called on young couples to avoid "outdated" wedding procedures, such as improper games to tease the groom or even bridesmaids, as well as drinking games. The proposal also suggested gift money from relatives and friends should not exceed 600 yuan, and the red paper-scissored Chinese character of "Xi", or happiness, should be pasted only in the couple's own houses and yards. The move was mostly welcomed online. Online user Cao Yongping wrote the eradication of old, rigid ideas in wedding and funeral ceremonies needs the participation of everyone, while another user, Chen Feng, suggested holding ceremonies in village cultural halls to save money. There are also other voices. Some questioned the effectiveness of the proposal and said some of the regulations were too detailed and rigid. An official at local ethic enhancement committee office told Xinhua the proposal was meant to relieve the heavy financial pressure brought by wedding and funeral ceremonies. "Such ceremonies were meant to maintain close relationship within a family, but have become a huge burden for relatives and friends and should be changed," the official said. design rubber braceletscharity silicone wristbandsrubber bracelets cheapblack rubber wristbandscustom livestrong braceletsrubber wristbands
A scientist conducts tests for 1GENE, a genetic testing company in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Xinhua] Take a saliva swab, send it to the gene testing company and soon you will get a detailed report of your gene, including ancestral analysis and genetic disease detection. Zhang, who works in Beijing, paid 799 yuan ($127) for gene testing services in 2017, which suggested she was likely to suffer from vertigo and lactose intolerance, and was unlikely to get addicted to alcohol. Gene testing is becoming increasingly popular in China, with simple methods of service. The price for gene testing currently ranges from hundreds to tens of thousands of yuan. For example, on Taobao, China's leading online shopping website, a Kids' Memory Gene Test package detecting 3 genetic loci is priced at 599 yuan ($95) while the Obesity Gene Test package of 4 genetic loci testing is priced at 1,780 yuan ($283). The pricing of different gene testing products is unreasonable, with some hugely overpriced, according to WeGene CEO Zheng Qiang. WeGene is a gene testing company in China. The average cost of low-flux gene tests for a single genetic locus ranges from 10 to 20 yuan ($1.6-$3.2). Regardless of the costs of logistics and research and development, the net profit rate of the above-mentioned gene testing products is up to 90 percent. Most of the margins go to agents. Especially in children's gene testing products, agents can get a margin rate as high as 90 percent. Children's genetic testing is especially well-received by Chinese parents who are eager to learn their kids' talents. The test can cover everything, from their ability to learn languages to music appreciation, athletic ability, interpersonal skills and aptitude for mathematics. A package of kids' talent gene testing often costs tens of thousands of yuan in China. However, such packages can test 10 genetic loci at most, whose prices far outweigh their cost, according to experts. In addition, the effects of kids' talents gene testing are often highly exaggerated. According to Sun Yingli, a researcher in the Beijing Institute of Genomics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of these talent gene tests is too weak to back their use. The reason behind unreasonable pricing of gene testing products lies in the asymmetry of information between customers and producers, since gene testing is an unknown area for most Chinese, says Zheng Qiang. Currently, gene testing is unregulated in China without unified standards, which means companies can price their products on their own. As an emerging industry, China's gene testing industry is at a starting point in terms of pricing and regulation.
