Local authorities are offering a slew of inducements to coax couples into tying the knot
\n Beijing
\nMoments after registering their marriage, Zhang Gang and Weng Linbin posed in front of a red backdrop adorned with a Chinese government emblem, fanning out the wad of cash they had received as an incentive to wed.
\nZhang\u2019s home city of Luliang in northern Shanxi province is one of many places in China where local authorities are offering a slew of inducements to coax couples into tying the knot.
\nThe 1,500-yuan ($205) reward the couple received is part of official efforts to boost the country\u2019s population, which fell for the third straight year in 2024.
\nThe sum is half a month\u2019s average wage for Luliang\u2019s urban population \u2014 and more than the monthly average wage for its rural citizens, according to official data.
\n\u201cI think this policy is quite effective in improving the current marital and romantic situation,\u201d Zhang told AFP.
\n\u201cWhen I mentioned this policy to my friends, they all thought it was great.\u201d
\nMore generally, though, authorities are fighting a tide of reluctance from young people.
\nLast year marriages dropped by a fifth compared to 2023, data released Monday showed.
\nWhen it comes to having children, experts say that higher costs \u2014 especially for education and childcare \u2014 and the challenging employment market for recent graduates are among factors discouraging would-be parents.
\nWhen Luliang\u2019s cash incentive for marriage was announced online, many commented that the amount wouldn\u2019t be enough to justify the commitment.
\nThe reward \u2014 which has an age cut-off of 35 for women \u2014 is just the flashiest part of the package.
\nThe former mining city is also offering subsidies and medical insurance contributions for registering newborns.
\nMarried couples in Luliang are given 2,000 yuan for their first registered child, 5,000 for their second and 8,000 for their third.
\nWedding rush?
\nAt a Luliang marriage registry office on Wednesday, a festival day, a steady stream of couples were taking advantage of the nuptial bounty, which kicked in on January 1.
\nThe sound of an automatic money counter whirred persistently as lovebirds were handed stacks of fresh 100-yuan bills.
\nAn official at the registry told AFP that since New Year\u2019s Day, their office alone had seen over 400 couples get marriage certificates.
\nAt one point the office ran out of cash, said 36-year-old Wang Yanlong, who came to pick up his money this week after getting married in early January.
\nHowever, this apparent wedding rush might be deceptive.
\n\u201cMy colleague who was preparing to get married next year decided, because of this benefit, to do it this year,\u201d said 34-year-old newlywed Li Yingxing.
\nZhang and Weng said they were planning to marry earlier but waited for the bonus, and a registrar in another Luliang district told AFP that many couples had done similarly.
\nFew good men
\nAn advertisement for the 1,500-yuan reward sits among testimonies from happy clients in matchmaker Feng Yuping\u2019s office in Luliang.
\nMost of her clients are women, but the 48-year-old was pessimistic about the prospects of them finding a husband even with the new incentives.
\n\u201cA man working at a state-owned enterprise might have a bachelor\u2019s degree, but he won\u2019t even look at a girl with a master\u2019s degree in the civil service,\u201d Feng said.
\n\u201cThere are still a lot of problems with men\u2019s attitudes towards marriage.\u201d
\nFeng said that often women are better educated, with a good job, but are rejected because of their age.
\nSome are turning off marriage altogether.
\n\u201cWomen now have their own stable income,\u201d Feng said. \u201cThey may be less interested in getting married. And there aren\u2019t many good men.\u201d
\nThe result has been a decline in Luliang\u2019s population.
\n\u201cThe birth rate has dropped seriously,\u201d Feng said, citing examples of kindergartens closing because of lack of demand.
\nWidespread incentives
\nLuliang\u2019s predicament is common across China, with the ageing population a major preoccupation of Beijing.
\nThe government released a report in October listing incentives similar to those in Luliang
\nShangyou county in Jiangxi province has been giving out cash rewards for each family that has a second or third child, the report said.
\nMeanwhile, subsidies that can reach around 165,000 yuan for families with three children in Tianmen, Hubei province were credited by media with reversing a decline in birth rates last year \u2014 though the data is still limited.
\nIn Luliang, even those who said the new measures might encourage more couples to get hitched thought the perks were secondary to people\u2019s decision to marry or not.
\n\u201cThe cost of marriage for young people is indeed very high, and it is a factor,\u201d said Zhang.
\n\u201cHowever, I believe that as long as young people are in love, they will inevitably walk down the aisle together.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Local authorities are offering a slew of inducements to coax couples into tying the knot Beijing Moments after registering their marriage, Zhang Gang and Weng Linbin posed in front of a red backdrop adorned with a Chinese government emblem, fanning out the wad of cash they had received as an incentive to wed. Zhang\u2019s home […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-461430","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n