In the last six years, 23 Vietnamese women have married farmers in a small township in Henan province, local media reported.

The marriages took place in Linqi township, Linzhou city, the Henan Business News reported.

The wives had settled and made good friends in Linqi, the report said, adding that finance may be a factor in romance as marrying a Vietnamese woman is traditionally cheaper than marrying a Chinese woman.

Liu Weihua, 35, married his Vietnamese wife in 2011.

He spent about 30,000 yuan ($4,800) on the wedding, but it would cost at least 100,000 yuan to marry a local woman, he said.

Vietnamese woman Liang Shichui married Deng Guoqiang but before the marriage she received a month's language training before going to China in November 2012.

Many of the Vietnamese women have to apply for a visa every three months since they can not get a permanent residential permit, said the report.

Before a Vietnamese women can apply for a permanent residential permit, they have to be married to a Chinese man for at least five years and to have lived in China for at least five years.