Overview
- Ningbo is offering eight marriage consumption vouchers worth a total of 1,000 yuan to couples who register between Oct 28 and Dec 31, with quantities capped and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Hangzhou and Pinghu have launched similar wedding voucher schemes that run through year-end, targeting spending on banquets, photography, hotels and related services.
- Beijing this year introduced a nationwide child benefit of 3,600 yuan per newborn annually up to age three, part of wider directives that include promoting “love education” at universities.
- Some localities are experimenting with far larger incentives, with Tianmen in Hubei reporting a 17% rise in births after rolling out housing aid, higher child payments and cash for registering marriages.
- The push follows a sharp drop in marriages to about 6.1 million last year from 7.68 million in the prior year, as costs and changing preferences weigh on plans to wed and have children.