CHINA

China’s Local Governments Offer Cash to Spur Marriage and Births

Published: Jul. 29, 2026 6:50 p.m. GMT+8

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Chinese local governments, villages and companies are offering cash payments and consumption vouchers to newly married couples as the country confronts persistently weak marriage and birth rates.

The incentives, generally aimed at first-time marriages involving locally registered residents, typically range from 1,000 yuan ($147) to 3,000 yuan. Some village-level programs offer far more, while others add payments for each child born after marriage.

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Chinese local governments and villages offer cash (1,000-3,000 yuan, some up to 40,000) and vouchers to first-time married couples to boost weak marriage and birth rates.
Companies like Miniso and Shengfan provide wedding and childbirth payments to employees.
Marriage registrations hit a near 45-year low of 6.106 million in 2024, then rose 10.76% in 2025.

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Explore the story in 3 minutes

1. Chinese local governments, villages, and companies are offering cash payments and consumption vouchers to newly married couples to address persistently low marriage and birth rates. These incentives, generally for first-time marriages of locally registered residents, typically range from 1,000 to 3,000 yuan, with some villages offering much more and additional childbirth subsidies. [para. 1][para. 2]

2. Specific programs include Mingxi County in Fujian, which provides 3,000 yuan for first marriages with premarital medical exams, and childbirth subsidies of 2,000, 3,000, and 5,000 yuan. [para. 3][para. 4] Some governments impose age limits: Lüliang in Shanxi offers 1,500 yuan if the bride is 35 or younger, and Changshan County in Quzhou offers 1,000 yuan if the bride is 25 or younger. [para. 6][para. 7] In Guangdong, labor unions can give up to 1,000 yuan, and villages such as Nanling Village offer 20,000 to 40,000 yuan for first-time couples and child payments up to 30,000 yuan. [para. 8][para. 9][para. 10] Xinsi Huangtang Village provides 10,000 yuan for first-time couples and 10,000 per child, aiming to address late marriage and delayed childbearing. [para. 11][para. 12]

3. Other programs use consumption vouchers. Hangzhou offers 10 "sweet economy" vouchers for wedding services, each providing 100 yuan off purchases of 2,000 yuan or more, valid for 20 days. [para. 15] Shangyu provides a 1,000 yuan package with discount vouchers for banquets and maternal products. [para. 16] Wuhu has wedding-banquet vouchers with tiered discounts. [para. 17] Companies like Miniso Group and Wuhan Shengfan Group offer wedding and childbirth payments to employees. [para. 18][para. 19] Miniso pays 10,000 yuan for marriage and for the first child, with increasing amounts for subsequent children and no ceiling, while Wuhan Shengfan pays 10,000 yuan for marriage and up to 30,000 yuan for children. [para. 18][para. 19]

4. These efforts follow a long decline in marriage registrations, which peaked at 13.469 million in 2013, fell to 6.106 million in 2024, and slightly increased by 657,000 couples in 2025. [para. 21][para. 22][para. 23] The provinces with the most marriages in 2024 were Guangdong, Henan, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Anhui, Hebei, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Zhejiang, many of which also had high birth rates. [para. 24] Demographers attribute the decline to a shrinking marriageable-age population, later marriage, an imbalanced sex ratio, and weakening traditional views. [para. 27] Research shows the share of unmarried women at age 30 rose from 1.04% in 1990 to 13.95% in 2020, and the average first marriage age increased from 23.59 to 28. [para. 28] The divorce rate remains high, peaking at 3.4 per 1,000 in 2016, higher than in Japan, South Korea, and the U.S., which can undermine family stability and discourage childbearing. [para. 25][para. 26]

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Who’s Who

Miniso Group: Miniso Group established a 10 million yuan marriage-and-childbirth support fund in March 2024. Full-time employees with at least one year of service receive a 10,000 yuan wedding payment and 10,000 yuan for a first child, with payments increasing by 10,000 yuan for each subsequent child with no ceiling.

Wuhan Shengfan Group: According to the article, Wuhan Shengfan Group, a manufacturer, offers employees 10,000 yuan for marrying in 2025 and childbirth payments of 10,000, 20,000, and 30,000 yuan for first, second, and third children, respectively.

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What Happened When

2026：: Chinese local governments, villages and companies began offering cash payments and consumption vouchers to newly married couples as the country confronts persistently weak marriage and birth rates.

July 2026：: Authorities in Mingxi County, in southeastern Fujian province, revised a population policy to offer a one-time 3,000 yuan payment and childbirth subsidies.

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