The wedding industry is experiencing a resurgence as the pandemic gradually subsides, with a surge in spending during the 2023 Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays. Despite an overall decrease of 10 to 15 percent in spending on wedding banquets in 2023, spending on gold jewellery related to weddings remains robust, according to a white paper by China Wedding Expo.
Marriage rates in China have been declining since 2013, when the number of new registrations reached its peak at 13.47 million. The country’s birth rate has also decreased, leading to concerns about an aging population. In an effort to boost birth rates, authorities have introduced incentives for couples to have larger families since May 2021, when the three-child policy was introduced. The one-child policy was officially ended in January 2016.
Young people’s attitudes towards marriage have shifted due to factors such as high costs associated with starting a family, gender imbalance, and changing views on settling down. The average age at first marriage has increased from 25.75 for men and 24 for women in 2010 to 29.38 for men and 27.95 for women in 2020.
Official data shows that there has been an increase in uncontested divorces, with approximately 2.59 million couples registering for uncontested divorces in 2023, up from around two million the previous year. In contrast, contested divorces decreased from around seven hundred seventy-nine thousand in 2023 compared to nearly eight hundred seventy-nine thousand in the previous year, resulting in a decline of around one percent from the previous year.
It is evident that the trend of changing attitudes towards marriage and family dynamics continues despite some improvements over time.
In conclusion, while the wedding industry is showing signs of recovery after being hit hard by the pandemic, it still faces challenges such as declining marriage rates and rising divorce numbers due to shifting societal norms and changes in people’s attitudes towards marriage and family dynamics. However, efforts are being made by authorities to boost birth rates and improve family dynamics through incentives and policies that aim to address these issues head-on.
