Young and unmarried? In THIS country you can earn by just tying the knot

In yet another desperate attempt to boost its marriage rate and hence increase population, authorities in one of China's most wealthy provinces, Changshan, have announced cash prizes for couples if the bride is 25 years old or below.Newlyweds in Changshan will receive over 1,000 yuan (US$138) if a groom marries a woman who is aged 25 or younger. In China, the legal age of marriage is 22 for men and 20 for women.Authorities in different provinces of China have been introducing a slew of measures to ensure young to tie the knot. Last week, the country celebrated its traditional Valentine's Day called the Qixi Festival where couples received text messages from the local health commission with an appeal that read: "Get married and give birth at an appropriate age … carry on the Chinese heritage and share in the responsibility of national rejuvenation."China's declining demographyPeople in China have been rejecting the institution of marriage in larger numbers over the years with 2022 recording the lowest number of weddings since the 1970s.This has triggered a demographic crisis that the country has not seen in over 60 years.Wedding registrations in 2022 declined to 6.83 million marking the ninth consecutive year of annual decline.Yuan Xin, vice-president of the China Population Association said, "Young people now pursue a life that revolves around their own personal development and pleasure, instead of a life that revolves around a child."“If starting a family stands in the way of their own development and happiness, they will opt out of giving birth, or even marriage,” he added.China offers 30 days paid ‘marriage leaves’ to tackle declining birth rateEarlier this year, some provinces in China started offering 30 days of paid leave for newlyweds couples.According to reports by China’s People’s Daily Health, the north-western province of Gansu as well as the province of Shanxi will now give 30 days of paid marriage leave while Shanghai gives 10 and Sichuan offers only three days.The rest of China, similarly, offers three days of paid leave to new couples but some provinces, in a bid to encourage people to get married and have more children, have been generous to grant more leaves.China discourages exorbitant 'bride prices'In March, China began to prioritise terminating the practice of taking exorbitant  'bride prices.''Bride money has emerged as a social ill and the communist government has launched campaigns, for example, in several cities and prefectures in east China’s Jiangxi province, famous for bridal money, to make young women refuse the local custom.Videos that have gone viral show dozens of women, possibly in their 20s and 30s, making vows that they do not ask for cars, houses, or plenty of cash when they get married. The move is aimed at eliminating obstacles to marriages for higher birth rates.