Love or money
With home prices soaring, the first thing to consider when marrying a guy is if he has a private car and a house, according to many of China's young people, who hope to marry "fat cats" or the "rich second generation."
In the hope that the new interpretation will correct such attitudes, some netizens are optimistic about the new law, claiming that "the new marriage law is calling for true love," and "will make marriage more pure."
"Even if I marry a 'rich second generation,' I would get little property in a divorce. Maybe I would dare not even bring up divorce, so I would like to find a guy that I love. As long as he has a high potential to succeed, we can work hard together to buy a house," said a girl working in Nanjing.
"The new marriage law means we should not depend on the husband or his parents. The best way for the wife is to buy a house herself before marriage," twittered web users.
Always quick to sniff out potential business opportunities, some property developers have changed their promotional strategy to convince parents to purchase a "pre-marital property" for their daughters.
"Apartments bought by men are neither secure nor reliable, thus women should have their own properties," reads the tag line to a new campaign.
Scholars also believe the new law will help more people focus on love instead of material conditions.
Others have warned that people should not pin too much hope on the interpretation, since it is not likely to shake the importance of houses to marriage.
