A neon pink sign reading “Having three children is the best” lights up a wedding expo in Changsha, the capital of China’s Hunan Province.

Attendees are invited to explore topics from wedding planning to parenting. The event, part of a broader effort by Chinese authorities to counter the nation’s shrinking population, features interactive activities where men can simulate pregnancy discomforts and childbirth pain.

The marriage-themed festival aligns with Beijing’s recent push for local governments to promote marriage and childbirth, providing incentives like improved maternity and childcare benefits and housing support for families with multiple children.

However, this initiative has faced criticism on social media for reinforcing outdated gender roles, and attendance has been sparse.

Social media users took issue with expo slogans like “Housework is the best,” “Best at raising kids,” and “Best at tutoring homework,” which many perceived as perpetuating stereotypes about women.

“The slogans are all aimed at women. Shouldn’t sharing housework be the right thing to do?” questioned one user on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform.

Another user on Xiaohongshu, a popular social e-commerce site, remarked that the event likely “persuaded many hesitant people to give up marriage.”

Despite the government’s encouragement, marriage rates in China continue to decline. The Ministry of Civil Affairs reported a 16.6% drop in marriage registrations in the first three quarters of 2024, with only 4.75 million couples registering to marry.

Last week, Beijing urged local governments to allocate resources towards incentivizing marriages and births among young people, issuing guidelines to enhance support for families. The government’s initiatives, however, fall short in detailing funding and practical implementation.

Experts remain cautious about the potential impact of these measures. “The effectiveness of government policies will be limited,” said Xiujian Peng, a senior research fellow at the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University, who emphasized the importance of reducing working hours and addressing workplace gender discrimination.

Some local authorities adopted unorthodox strategies to boost birth rates, from offering free vitamins to potential mothers.

However, many feel these efforts fall short. The cost of having children is still too high and the benefits are too low, according to a local from Shanghai.

The competitive education system, high-intensity work culture, and rising housing costs need to be addressed according to the locals.

China has struggled to recover from a record-low birth rate last year, despite abandoning its one-child policy in 2015.

While policymakers are expected to introduce more initiatives to spur births in the coming months, economists argue that local governments, already in debt, lack the resources to support the population at the necessary scale.

China would need to invest 10% of its GDP to stabilize population levels, according to Yuwa Population Research.

Internationally, countries such as France and Sweden have found some success in boosting birth rates through social policies, but similar strategies have had limited effect in East Asia.

Experts suggest cultural and economic factors unique to this region, including high gender inequality, play a role.

China ranks 107th on the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index, compared to Japan and South Korea at 46th and 59th, respectively.

At the Changsha festival, authorities have launched a “marriage school” offering unconventional experiences for attendees.

Men are invited to wear pregnancy simulation bellies that replicate the pain of childbirth, with a pain level scale from one to ten.

Couples can also participate in activities like changing diapers and preparing baby formula, earning an “internship marriage certificate” upon completion.

The approach has raised eyebrows online, with many questioning its efficacy. “Treat women as human beings and respect them,” said one Weibo user.

“They don’t want to get married in the first place, and then the authorities are putting so much pressure on them and their families.”

The festival will continue to run each weekend through November, hoping to inspire more marriages and births—though reactions suggest the event may not have had the intended effect.

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