Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shanxi and other places announced: cash rewards for marriage

Guangdong's Guangzhou Baiyun District directly throws out a "big bomb" — local registered couples getting married for the first time can receive up to 40,000 yuan, enough for a honeymoon trip for the couple; Zhejiang's Shaoxing and Quzhou have introduced an "age competition", with the bride receiving a 1,000 yuan discount for marrying before the age of 25, while Shanxi's Lüliang is even more extreme, handing out a 1,500 yuan cash red envelope directly at the marriage registration site, simple and straightforward.

People in Zhejiang have turned marriage into a cultural tourism project, with couples able to take pictures at popular scenic spots when obtaining their marriage certificate, and the government covers wedding consumption vouchers; Shanxi is even more cunning, bundling marriage rewards with childbearing subsidies — have a third child and receive another 8,000 yuan, and discounts for children's education as well; in Guangzhou, a marriage registration office has opened in the subway station, with over 2,000 couples obtaining their certificates amid the clattering of the train, a truly magical operation.

Professor Jiang Quanbao from Xi'an Jiaotong University has succinctly revealed the truth — now the cost for young people to get married is enough to buy a small car, and raising a child is comparable to paying for a small apartment; this wave of operations is essentially a rush to "intercept" before the impending fertility cliff. Data shows that the number of marriages nationwide is expected to drop to 6.1 million pairs in 2024, hitting a 40-year low; if money isn't poured in, the marriage registration offices will struggle to sell their red books.

Netizens complain: "The price drop in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen is more practical than giving out 40,000!" Some are even worried about prompting "policy marriages" — marrying just to collect the money and then getting divorced. Guangdong advisor Dong Yu urges: It's useless to just throw money around! The mountains of childcare, housing prices, and workplace discrimination need to be moved together.

International players have entered the game — Seoul, South Korea will give newlyweds 5,000 yuan next year, and Hefei in China has set up marriage registration offices in subway stations, making it a new trend to obtain marriage certificates at scenic spots. Experts predict that cities are likely to implement a "marriage points system" where the more children couples have, the more cashback they receive, and companies may join in to distribute "marriage and childbirth gift packages".

This grand experiment of the "marriage economy" raises the question of whether it is a strong shot in the arm to save the fertility rate or just a superficial placebo. The answer might lie in the financial records of young people — when the three mountains of mortgage, childcare, and workplace challenges truly ease, the cash in red envelopes can finally turn into long queues at the marriage registration office.