marriage

Chinese County Takes Aim at Soaring Bride Prices

Timely reports on issues and events from across China. Drawing on a vast range of sources, these succinct articles provide insights into the significance of each issue in a wider context.

NEWS

In line with national policy recommendations, the eastern county of Shicheng has implemented pilot programs and targeted matchmaking services to decrease or eliminate family spending when asking for a bride’s hand in marriage.

Fan Yiying

What Young Shanghainese Imagine Marriage Will Cost Them

Contributions from individuals with unique perspectives to share. Hear from everyone, from experts and commentators to those whose voices are often marginalized.

VOICES & OPINION

Interviews found that fears of inequality, loneliness, sacrifice, and disappointment shape attitudes toward marriage as much as economic pressures do.

Shen Yang

Has China Fallen Out of Love With Love?

Facing mounting uncertainty, many young Chinese are asking if love is too much of a risk. As uncertainty deepens, many young Chinese are coming to see love less as destiny than as a risk to manage.

Liu Zixi

China’s First DINK Generation Is Growing Old

Articles that cut to the core of contemporary China. In-depth, informed, and carefully crafted, every piece is carried by the voices of the story’s participants.

FEATURES

For decades, a small number of couples built lives without children. As more Chinese choose the same path, their experiences offer an early glimpse of what a child-free future may demand.

Chen Yiru

How Chinese Millennials Are Reimagining Weddings

Translations, cross-publications, and collaborative projects from Sixth Tone’s external partners. 

SIXTH TONE ×

From mountaintop elopements to music festival photoshoots, young people in China are transforming weddings from family obligations into personal statements about values and autonomy.

Original (Jiefang Daily)

Chinese Men More Likely to Cheat When Less Educated Than Wives: Study

A new analysis of more than 4,000 married Chinese adults found male infidelity rises sharply when wives are more educated and earn less.

Jiang Xinyi

Exhausted and Alone, China’s Single Moms Are Moving in Together

China has nearly 30 million single mothers. Now, many are finding support by moving in together, splitting bills, sharing child care, and building households outside the traditional family model.

Chen Yongyi

We Do: On China’s New Dating Apps, Parents Make the Match

As more young Chinese delay marriage, a new wave of dating platforms is giving parents the power to screen, filter, and initiate matches — often before their kids are even told.

Chen  Zhenyang

Love, Live: In China, You Can Now Marry at a Music Festival

No longer restricted by household registration laws, local governments are enticing young people to tie the knot at large-scale events around the country.

Till Debt Do Us Part: Gansu Takes Aim at Exorbitant Bride Prices

Gender imbalance, competition, and societal pressure to marry have meant that betrothal gifts have grown ever more lavish in the region — now the local government wants to rein them in.

Why Young Chinese Are Renting, Not Buying Their Wedding Jewelry

Amid rising gold prices, China’s newlyweds are bucking tradition and renting wedding jewelry instead — at a fraction of the cost.

Wu Yufei

He Qitong

Miss Match: Scams Target China’s Growing Singles Market

China’s top prosecuting body warns of rising fraud as scammers exploit dating platforms and matchmaking gaps across the country.

Ding Rui

Love Without Labels: Chinese Revise the Rules on Relationships

More Chinese couples are opting for “situationships” over traditional intimate relationships as they put personal happiness ahead of commitment.

Zhou Hanchi

I Do, But Not Yet: Young Chinese Delay Tying the Knot

China’s marriage rate has continued to fall, with experts citing rising wedding costs and changing attitudes toward family values.

The Paper

The Big Snip: The Men Making Vasectomies Go Viral in China

In a society where reproductive responsibility has long fallen on women, a growing number of Chinese men are sharing their vasectomy stories online, sparking long overdue conversations about masculinity and contraception.

China Slaps Heavy Fine on Top Dating Platform for False Ads

Zhenai, one of China’s oldest matchmaking services, was penalized for misleading users with fake profiles, exaggerated claims, and aggressive sales tactics, according to regulators.

More Chinese Couples Are Choosing to Live Apart. Is It Worth It?

A new study examines the rise of long-distance “commuter marriages” in China, driven by career and financial goals. It also highlights the emotional strain, gender imbalances, and family pressures such couples face.

In China, Young Women Are Now More Educated Than Their Spouses

Chinese women born after 1990 have on average a higher education level than their husbands, a new study has found.

China’s Latest Pro-Marriage Tactic: Grammable Wedding Venues

The government hopes to tempt couples to tie the knot by letting them register their marriage at local scenic spots, beaches, and temples.

Li Xin

Lin Liuhan

China’s New Hit Film is a Harsh Glimpse Into the Lives of ‘Aunties’

“Like a Rolling Stone” has won rave reviews for exploring the darkness behind the story of China’s “road-trip auntie,” Su Min.