Almost all of town's couples divorced, and that's just the beginning of the tale

RENHE, China — Farmer Yan Shihai was happily married for more than 30 years. Then late last year, seemingly out of the blue, the 57-year-old grandfather and his loving wife got a divorce.

Within months, all three of his adult children and their spouses also split up. So did almost every other married person in Yan's village of 4,000 — an astounding 98 percent of Renhe's married couples officially parted, according to the local government.

It was as if a spell had been cast over this once-quiet rural community in the Chinese heartland. The oldest among the couples were in their 90s and barely able to move. The youngest had just tied the knot. Some had babies.

But instead of tension or tears, the couples waiting in line at the local registry to end their marriages were practically jolly. They believed they were taking advantage of a legal loophole that allowed them to get an extra apartment.

In a country where the government has seized farm after farm to feed a building boom, the villagers figured that if they were going to lose the land that had supported them for generations, they should try to get a better deal.

"Basically, it's the government that forced us into this mess," said Yu Changle, 70, a grandfather whose three children also divorced. "They are not paying us enough to leave the land behind."

As they understood the compensation deal, each married couple would receive a small two-bedroom apartment in return for their land and farmhouse.

Those who were divorced would get a one-bedroom apartment each. The villagers figured that would be a better deal, that they could live in one apartment and make extra income from selling or renting out the other one.

So, while farmers elsewhere took to the streets with their picks and plows demanding higher compensation, the folks in Renhe took a gamble with their marriages.

"Divorced? How could I not be divorced? It's now a local custom!" Yan said as he sat on the stoop outside his new apartment building with a few neighbors — all divorced, of course. "Even if we hate it, we have to do it. Divorce gives us a chance to sit on a longer bench. Don't get divorced and you sit on a small stool or in the dirt."

But if what happened here is any guide, breaking up is hard to do, even if you don't mean it.

Most of the villagers parted ways based on the assumption that, after the new apartments came through, they would remarry and return to their old life. But authorities found out about the mass divorces and changed the compensation package this year.

If farmers who divorced after the rules changed still wanted an extra apartment, the government said, they had to pay close to market price for it. Of course, none of the farmers could afford that.

For most of those who split up earlier, it's a long wait before they will see the new apartments, if at all. The government didn't build enough one-bedroom apartments to accommodate the unexpected demand.

Marriages in tatters

Meanwhile, most of the former marriages are in tatters.

Considering the prospect of a future without financial security, remarrying now seems too much of a hassle. Promises are souring. Stunned villagers are watching their life partners drift off. Some have found new love. Others are deciding to try out freedom from a marriage they never thought they wanted to leave.

Although the marriage registrar reported that a few couples remarried, most in the village seem to be waiting for their new apartments.

The blocks of apartments that have been built so far are packed with uprooted villagers.

"We are miserable! There are broken families everywhere," said Wang Fen, 58, a grandmother who lost her husband of 40 years to what she considered a fake divorce. "We were very happy before. But he had a change of heart and married a younger woman."

As Wang spoke in her new apartment building, Zhou Qin, 30, started climbing the stairs to her new eighth-floor flat, a kitchen cabinet strapped to her back.

"Look at her," Wang said. "Married only one year and divorced. Now she has no husband, no baby and no money to even hire a mover."

Liu Chunlan, 60, is still living with her ex-husband. He is sick and needs her care. That's not all she has to worry about: Her son got a supposedly fake divorce when her grandson was just 3 months old, and she's been taking care of the baby ever since, because neither newly single parent wants the responsibility. Her daughter's husband took his divorce seriously, and Liu is looking after that former couple's toddler, too.

Perfectly legal move

Local officials don't know what to do about the situation except to point out that everything the villagers did was perfectly legal.

"In the face of the law, there is no such thing as a fake divorce," said Xue Xiang, an officer at the local marriage registry who oversaw the wave of divorces. "Every citizen has the right to marry and divorce. As long as it's voluntary, we have to follow the rules and grant them their wish. We can't help it if some people have ulterior motives."

At its height late last year, up to a hundred couples showed up at the office every day.

Now, many are wishing it were all a bad dream.

"I just want to go back to my farm," said Li Xin, 31, whose wife went off with someone else after the divorce, leaving him with their 3-year-old daughter. "At least there I can grow my own food. Here I have to pay for everything — food, water and electricity. Where do I get the money?"

But the farmhouses they gave up have been demolished and the land is off limits.