Since China's economy is no longer red-hot as it used to be, Chinese are now tightening their belts not only in their everyday expenses but also for special occasions such as weddings and funerals associated with lavish spending and show of wealth.

Local governments in rural China are setting the lead in cutting expenses for these two landmark events, while in some instances, it is the young couple who decides to tie the knot who sets the tone for a more frugal start to their life together.

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China.org reports an example of a Jiangxi couple who got married during Spring Festival. Du Yunlong, the 22-year-old groom, said he saved at least 20,000 yuan or US$3,263 by holding the reception at the activity center for seniors and borrowing cars from friends.

In contrast, the traditional Chinese wedding celebration has four dinners spread over two days, hosted in expensive hotels and at least a dozen luxury vehicles are hired.

For funerals, Shiquan Village allowed free use of its activity center, but it limited time to one day and mandated actors who played "gods" to charge only 200 yuan each, substantially down from the previous rate of 4,000 yuan.

Other Chinese villages that have put in place cost-cutting measures for weddings and funerals include Dapu Village in Fujian Province where villagers who saved a lot are asked to donate part of their savings to charities.

Meanwhile, the residents of Jianshan Township in Chongqing Province are estimated to have saved 400,000 yuan monthly for the weddings and funerals they had in 2014.

Xie Xiaoying, a village official, said that for rural Chinese to learn to embrace frugality in these major events in their lives, local governments must take the lead in changing their mentality.

Because of the hard times, newlyweds are encouraged to be on the lookout for thieves who could crash their reception and steal gift money like what happened to a Chinese couple in Australia who held their wedding reception at a Chinese restaurant in Sutera Mall.

The 550 guests gifted them with an estimated RM70,000 to RM100,000, but the money inside red envelopes were in a box that was stolen by three thieves who positioned themselves near the restaurant entrance where the box was placed, reports The Star.

Tagswedding, funeral