NO, not true. I talked to the teacher trainer of one town I worked at- I told him I earned 5,000 a month. He said I was average in my salary. Chinese teachers make more than you think: teaching in the summer for 100 yuan per student per class (my ex-girl friend made 30,000 extra every year doing this), teacher day money (I don't get any), pension money (I don't get any), teachers get paid for tests scores (I don't get this money), they get paid for the summer ( I don't get paid for summer), and end of year bonuses the school gives their teachers so they won't pay taxes. One teacher at my present school told me that ten years ago a foreign teacher earned twice as much as he did, now the salaries are the same. Actually the really good science and math teachers can earn up to 10,000 a month. So who will I believe, you, or the teachers I work with who tell me all this stuff. Chinese are not so poor anymore.
Another teacher and I actually sat down and added up all the numbers- he earned 45,000 a year and I earned 55,000 a year. That is not much of a difference, and that is without all the grey money added in. The guy drove a nice car too. I worked in education in the USA for four years so I am not a novice.
For being poor, Chinese teachers at my school have really nice cars. Heck, the head master at my school just gave one teacher a new car- she told me herself! I work with 6 other Chinese teachers in my office and they are not shy when they speak about money.
So teachers here, can offer their wives more money than before. That is why they can date for 5,000 to 10,000- not 2,500 as you say.