A Cambodian Bride in Small-Town China | The Paper
Yan Cong and Chen Ronghui—The Paper
Over the last couple years, China has become the leading destination for Cambodian women who marry foreign men. The skewed sex ratio in China has pushed many single men to find wives from neighboring countries, creating a surge in marriages between Cambodian women and Chinese men over the past three years. Photographer and “Depth of Field” editor Yan Cong followed one Cambodian bride, Sophorn, on her first trip home since she moved to China and got married three years ago. While many brides reportedly are tricked into coming to China, Sophorn’s story is happier than most. She enjoys her new life in China, even though she had to leave her two children from her first marriage back in Cambodia. Cong and Chen Ronghui followed her from China to Cambodia, and then back to China, to tell her story of separation and reunion with two families in two countries. The story was also translated into English and published on The Paper’s sister website Sixth Tone.
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Over the last couple years, China has become the leading destination for Cambodian women who marry foreign men. The skewed sex ratio in China has pushed many single men to find wives from neighboring countries, creating a surge in marriages between Cambodian women and Chinese men over the past three years. Photographer and “Depth of Field” editor Yan Cong followed one Cambodian bride, Sophorn, on her first trip home since she moved to China and got married three years ago. While many brides reportedly are tricked into coming to China, Sophorn’s story is happier than most. She enjoys her new life in China, even though she had to leave her two children from her first marriage back in Cambodia. Cong and Chen Ronghui followed her from China to Cambodia, and then back to China, to tell her story of separation and reunion with two families in two countries. The story was also translated into English and published on The Paper’s sister website Sixth Tone.