Last week, Shenzhen experienced a surge in marriage registrations, marking a small peak in the city’s nuptial activity. On Feb. 12, the Lantern Festival, Shenzhen shattered the previous five-year record for the festival, registering 755 couples. By 6 p.m. Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, the city had documented a total of 988 marriages.

The fact that Shenzhen once again led Guangdong Province in marriage registration volume has recently captured the public’s attention. According to Guangdong’s civil affairs statistical quarterly report (for the fourth quarter of 2024), the province saw 512,000 marriage registrations in 2024, a nearly 19% decline from 2023, with Shenzhen taking the top spot in the province with 91,926 registrations.

Data from the official website of the Shenzhen Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau reveal a consistent annual increase in marriage registrations from 2020 to 2023, reaching an all-time high for the past five years in 2023. Despite a slight downturn in 2024, the number of registrations in Shenzhen remained higher than in 2022.

Statistics indicate that the number of couples registering marriages in Shenzhen from 2020 to 2023 was 67,625, 76,380, 84,524, and 109,070, respectively, demonstrating a steady upward trend year over year.

A wedding ceremony featuring the Nan'ao fishermen marriage etiquette is held at a seaside square in Dapeng New District on Feb. 14. Photo courtesy of Shenzhen Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau 

Nationally, the Civil Affairs Statistical Data for the Fourth Quarter of 2024, released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Feb. 8, reported 6,106,000 marriage registrations and 2,621,000 divorce registrations in 2024. Compared to the 7,680,000 marriage registrations in 2023, this represents a decrease of approximately 20.5%. Meanwhile, divorce registrations saw an increase of 28,000, up about 1.1%.

Shenzhen, the city with residents most willing to marry in Guangdong, exudes a vibrant allure in the marriage market. What is the source of this city’s charm?

Enjoying demographic dividend

The enthusiasm for and volume of marriage registrations in Shenzhen are intrinsically linked to the city’s unique urban characteristics. As the mega city with the youngest population in the country (with an average age of 32.5 years), Shenzhen has attracted a significant number of migrant workers, entrepreneurs, and highly educated talent, creating a substantial base of marriage-age individuals.

Data suggest that the average age for first marriage among Shenzhen residents is 30.8 years, making the young demographic the primary force in marriage.

A talent attraction ranking report by online recruitment platform Zhaopin.com ranked Shenzhen at the top for the last two years, making it the most attractive city in China for those born after 1995.

The report highlights that Shenzhen’s lower threshold for residency compared to Beijing and Shanghai, coupled with its innovative industrial structure and job opportunities, draws more young people to work here.

This high mobility has fostered cultural integration, making Shenzhen’s approach to marriage more open and inclusive, with a generally positive attitude towards matrimony. Meanwhile, a solid economic foundation also gives more young people the confidence to enter marital life.

Data show that in 2024, the proportion of permanent residents aged 25-35 in Shenzhen reached 42%, far exceeding the national average.

Enriching marriage registration experience

Shenzhen allows for online registration appointments 15 days ahead. To secure a marriage certificate on an ordinary day, it’s advisable to book at least two weeks in advance. On popular days like Feb. 14 and May 20, lines at civil affairs bureaus across the city can be lengthy.

“We didn’t successfully make an online reservation, so we made the reservation on site at the registration office,” said a newlywed couple surnamed Zou and Li, who chose to tie the knot at the marriage registration office in Futian District on Feb. 14.

“Luckily we didn’t have to wait too long and the whole process was less than 20 minutes,” they said.

In order to cope with the peak of marriage registrations on popular days, marriage registration offices across the city adopt online and in-person appointments to meet people’s needs as much as possible. Couples without online appointments can still process their registration on-site, with services available until the last couple is served.

As the first city in the country to achieve cross-province marriage registration, Shenzhen has broken residency restrictions and introduced innovative services for those who want to get married in the city.

“With both me and my wife being from out of town, we opted to register our marriage in Shenzhen. This decision not only spared us the hassle of commuting back and forth but also allowed us to allocate the saved funds towards our honeymoon,” said a man surnamed Kong.

Data for 2024 reveal that 45,014 marriages were registered through the city’s cross-province marriage registration service — approximately 35% of the city’s total marriage registration volume — placing it among the highest in the nation.

For popular days like the Lantern Festival (also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day) and Feb. 14, Shenzhen’s marriage registration offices have made it a routine to launch an array of themed activities that blend traditional charm with modern creativity.

On Feb. 14 this year, the marriage registration office in Nanshan District, in partnership with scenic spot Window of the World, hosted an ultimate romantic feast for newlyweds. The event featured 500 drones flying beside the “Eiffel Tower” at Window of the World, creating a visual spectacle with romantic patterns and messages for the newlyweds.

The marriage registration office in Bao’an District capitalized on the Bay Glory Ferris wheel at OH Bay to conduct a romantic outdoor collective certification ceremony. Meanwhile, Dapeng New Area has leveraged its coastal setting to offer couples an exclusive “sea romance” experience, including traditional fisherman wedding attire and a yacht journey across Yueliang Bay to Yangchou Bay.

Shenzhen also continues to advance the integration of marriage registration agencies into parks, creating outdoor garden-style venues that offer couples picturesque locations for photo shoots. Currently, the marriage registration offices in Futian, Nanshan, Longhua, Guangming, and Dapeng have relocated to park settings.

The wedding economy

By harnessing the allure of marriage, Shenzhen is reshaping the city’s economic landscape. Coastal urban areas like Yantian and Dapeng are striving to develop the wedding economy through the in-depth integration of weddings and tourism.

Yantian District, for instance, has elevated Dameisha and Xiaomeisha as premier wedding destinations, connecting star-rated hotels, wedding photography, and jewelry design to create a comprehensive one-stop service.

Dapeng New District, with its mountainous and marine resources, offers ocean-themed wedding banquets and high-end wedding activities like yachts and hot air balloons.

With an average of dozens of participants per wedding, over 1,000 weddings can generate tens of thousands of visitors, underscoring the significant driving force of the wedding economy.

On balance, the steady growth of marriage registrations in Shenzhen represents a coordinated evolution of population structure, policy innovation, and industrial change.