Two years ago, Bill Li, a café owner in Shenzhen, received an unusual proposal. His friend, a real estate agent, introduced him to a woman who did not have a local hukou — a form of government ID that is essential for anyone hoping to buy a property in the city — and was willing to pay Rmb30,000 ($4,300) to marry someone who did.
“I started to realise that it can be so profitable to buy a house in Shenzhen that people even set up fake marriages,” he said.
Mr Li went ahead with the marriage and, a year later, after borrowing from banks and finance companies, he bought a property of his own.
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