A photograph captures a couple posing with their marriage certificates at a registration office located in Xuanwu Lake Park, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. The image was taken on May 10, 2025.
Following the recent announcement by Hubei Province in Central China to extend marriage leave to 15 days, a total of 28 provinces across China have now officially increased the duration of marriage leave. This information was reported by Southern Metropolis Daily.
Hubei's decision to extend marriage leave from three to 15 days places it as the third Chinese province to implement such a change in 2025. Shandong Province in East China extended its marriage leave to 18 days in January, and Sichuan Province in Southwest China extended its leave to 25 days.
According to Southern Metropolis Daily, Shanxi Province in North China and Gansu Province in Northwest China offer the most generous marriage leave, with couples eligible for 30 days. Henan Province in Central China and Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China offer a maximum of 28 and 25 days, respectively.
In South China's Guangdong Province, the marriage leave remains at three days. This has prompted online appeals from some residents of Guangdong, who are requesting an extension to 10-15 days.
These incentive measures are being implemented in response to a decline in marriage registrations across China. Official data indicates that 1.81 million couples registered to marry in the first quarter of 2025, representing an 8 percent decrease compared to the previous year. After a brief increase in 2023, marriage registrations fell again last year, reaching the lowest level since 1980.
4 Comments
ZmeeLove
Marriage leave is easy to 'solve,' but affordability and career prospects are much harder.
Habibi
If it works it works, and people can plan to get married and be happier in their lives.
Mariposa
This could encourage couples to get married. It's a positive incentive.
Bermudez
It doesn't address the real problem. Marriage decline is about economic pressures, housing costs, and societal expectations, not a few extra days off.