In the past two decades, migration has become a quintessential feature defining the identity

and life experiences of millions of young rural women who have left their home villages and

migrated to urban areas for wage labor in China. However, due to the combined effects of

the state-instituted hukou system and women’s traditional gender roles of childcare and

household duties, many female migrants face difficult choices when it is time for them to get

married. In this study I examine the rise of a new marriage form among migrant couples in

Dongguan, a newly industrializing boomtown in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong

province. I call this marriage a neo-local marriage as migrant couples set up their postmarital

residence in a destination locale that is thousands of miles away from their

hometowns. I first describe some of the new features of neo-local marriages for young migrant

couples in Dongguan. I then explore Dongguan’s boomtown status in the new economy, the

changing labor market, and young migrants’ agency as new forces behind the rise of this new

marriage form. Finally I discuss both the potential transformative power of a neo-local

marriage for young female migrants and the risks and constraints of this marriage for them