Chinanews, Shanghai, March 23 - Nowadays, international marriages are quite common in Shanghai. According to the data by Shanghai Municipal Department of Civil Affairs, there were 2,960 international and inter-regional marriages concluded there in 2006, a 22.97% growth compared with 2005. The couples involved were from 55 countries and regions. However, the divorce rate of international couples also kept rising. In 2006 alone, 355 such couples broke up, a new high.

 

At present, there are at least 40,000 foreign employees in Shanghai. Taking the foreigners who are travelling or on a business trip in Shanghai into consideration, the number will increase to some 100,000.

 

Most international marriages in Shanghai involve Japanese, as Japan has become the biggest trade partner of Shanghai since late 1990s, and Japanese form the biggest foreigner community in Shanghai. Besides, many Shanghainese also married Americans or Canadians.

 

However, the divorce rate of Chinese-Canadian marriages is the highest, with Chinese-Japanese marriages next to it. The long-term seperation between the couples and the differences between their culture and religion should be blamed for their divorces.

 

It takes joint effort and mutual understanding to maintain a marriage, especially international ones, as a slight misunderstanding might even bring a great disaster to them.