In this Chinese city, local govt turns matchmaker to boost marriage rate
This Chinese city has launched a state-sponsored dating app
The severity of the population crisis in China can be gauged from the fact that the local government in Guixi city has launched a state-sponsored dating app in the hopes of boosting the marriage rate and, implicitly, the birth rate.
Guixi, a city of about 640,000 people, has taken upon itself to be the matchmaker in a region where singles shrug off marriage due to the high cost of living.
The app, called “Palm Guixi”, includes a platform for organising blind dates, China Youth Daily, a state-run newspaper, reported.
Local authorities have been trying hard to boost China's marriage rate, which has been falling simultaneously with the birth rate nationwide for the past decade. In 2021 there were 5.4 marriages per 1,000 people, compared with six in the US.
Apparently, Guixi isn’t the only province that is playing the cupid card. In Jiangxi, the local government has been organising in-person events to get people mingling.
In Gao’an city, around 100 people attended an event in Ruizhou Fuya park where they were reportedly dressed up in traditional clothes, playing games and “got closer” to each other as they felt “the profoundness of Chinese culture”, reports Guardian.
Netizens’ reactions to the state-sponsored matchmaking service have been lukewarm. Many on Weibo praised the government’s efforts in boosting China’s rapidly falling birth rate. While a few remained sceptical of the idea, with one user writing that Chinese people are expected to “breed like pigs”.
One of the primary reasons blamed for the low marriage rate is the tradition where a prospective husband pays a sum to his bride-to-be's family. In recent years, the prices have shot up.
A local official told Bloomberg that families charge suitors as much as $43,000 as a betrothal gift.
In recent years, the government came down hard against such practices and imposed fines. The country’s civil code prohibits “the exaction of money or gifts in connection with marriage”.
But in practice, the tradition remains rampant, especially in rural areas. In 2022 Jiangxi topped an unofficial nationwide ranking of bride prices, with an average of 380,000 yuan ($55,000).
(With inputs from agencies)
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