At a recent wedding expo in Changsha, China, bright pink neon signs with phrases like “Having three children is the best” reflected the government’s growing urgency to boost marriage and birth rates amid an aging population and declining births. However, the low turnout and backlash on social media suggest that the government’s traditionalist messaging may be missing the mark with modern audiences, especially women.
The expo featured hands-on activities for couples, such as experiencing simulated childbirth pain and practicing parenting skills, as part of the government’s broader attempt to promote family life. Yet, slogans reinforcing gender roles — “Housework is the best” and “Best at raising kids” — have drawn widespread criticism online. Many saw the language as outdated and sexist. “All the slogans seem directed at women. Isn’t sharing housework the right thing to do?” commented one Weibo user. Another on Xiaohongshu claimed the expo “probably persuaded a lot of hesitant people to give up marriage.”
Government figures show that marriage registrations dropped 16.6% in the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the previous year, indicating that young people are increasingly delaying or forgoing marriage altogether. This trend has alarmed officials, prompting Beijing to urge local governments to promote marriage and childbirth with policies like improved maternity leave, childcare support, and housing incentives for larger families. However, these policies lack detailed funding plans, and many experts doubt their effectiveness without significant changes in work culture and gender equality.
The government’s recent actions reflect a growing anxiety over demographic decline. In 2015, China ended its one-child policy, yet birth rates have continued to fall, reaching record lows last year. Some local governments have resorted to tactics like cold-calling women to promote pregnancy and offering free vitamins, which have done little to sway public opinion. Shanghai resident Aiqi, 32, dismissed the latest measures as inadequate, citing high costs and systemic pressures. “We need to change the competitive education system, the high-intensity work environment, and the high cost of housing,” she noted.
Experts believe that economic constraints may hinder the effectiveness of Beijing’s policies. According to demographer Yi Fuxian, the long-term costs of raising a child mean that debt-burdened local governments have little incentive to encourage childbirth. Research from the Yuwa Population Research Center suggests that stabilizing China’s population would require an investment of 10% of the country’s GDP. While similar policies have had success in Western countries like France and Sweden, they’ve struggled in East Asia, largely due to persistent gender inequality. China’s ranking of 107th in the World Economic Forum’s gender gap index places it far behind nations like South Korea and Japan, both of which have also struggled to raise birth rates despite policy interventions.
Sociologists like Yun Zhou of the University of Michigan argue that top-down policies rarely shift individual choices on family planning. “Measures that tell people to have more children are rarely effective,” she said. This sentiment was echoed by Weibo user Yuxiao, who criticized the festival’s focus on gendered expectations. “Treat girls as human beings and respect them,” Yuxiao wrote. “Many don’t want to marry in the first place, and now there’s added pressure on them and their families to have children.”
The marriage expo in Changsha will continue to run every weekend through November, but the mixed reactions highlight a widening gap between policy goals and public sentiment. For many, China’s approach seems disconnected from the lived realities of modern Chinese families, raising questions about the future effectiveness of government efforts to reverse the demographic decline.