Xie Qing found nothing to her liking when she first visited her husband's home in a remote northern village a year ago: The food was bland, the bed was not comfortable and the air was too dry for a southerner.

"My mother-in-law doesn't eat spicy food, and I don't like noodles," said Xie, who is 26. "We have to eat separately, which is really bad."

Xie's husband, Wang Chun, was born in Xiahu village, which is an hour's drive from the seat of Chicheng county in Hebei province. In recent years, young villagers like Wang have been leaving the land behind to seek better opportunities in cities. That has allowed them to bring home both more money and wives who had upbringings that were quite different than their own.

"In the past, young people in the village had very few marriage choices," said Feng Yuling, the village head. "They often found a mate nearby, either in the same village or in a neighboring one.

"Since neighbors often share the same ancestors, and people would jokingly say: 'Marry your relative or you get no one'."

More than half of the roughly 500 young people in the village now work in cities. "They find husbands and wives with varied backgrounds," he said.

Xie, who was raised in Chongqing, met Wang in Shanghai in 2008 and married him two years later despite her parents' opposition. Xie said she does not have many misgivings about marrying a northern villager.

"We both worked in Shanghai," Xie said. "We met and had feelings for each other. It doesn't matter where he comes from."

As China's economy soars, the differences between the incomes made in rural and urban areas are becoming more pronounced. More rural Chinese are moving to cities to find better jobs. That is also giving them more choices in marriage.

In Laozhazi village, Nie Wenjun was one of the first people living there to marry a woman from outside the province. "It was a rare event in the village," he said.

"I had never thought of marrying someone from the outside. But when you go to the city, you see things and you meet more people."

Nie's wife, Zhang Lingxia, was very disappointed when she first arrived in Laozhazi: She found it to be even poorer than her hometown. "Later I came to realize that everyone has his or her own fate, whether it be good or bad. Marrying the right person is a good fate."

The family now keeps six cows and one pig and has home appliances.

Hu Yulin, a Laozhazi villager, finds himself single at the age of 46. As a baby, he suffered from polio, and a crippled leg has prevented him from moving away from the landlocked village. He now lives on the meager income he makes working as a tourist guide.

"Sometimes I am a little envious of those who find wives from the outside," said Hu. "Maybe someday when tourism prospers here, I can find one too."

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