The Ministry of Civil Affairs in April launched an education drive to make marriage more affordable in 29 cities, as the cost of tying the knot had risen beyond the reach of average families.

“A drop in marriage will affect birth rates and in turn economic and social development,” said Yang Zongtao, a senior official at the MCA last year. “We are hoping to . . . actively create favourable conditions for more people of suitable ages to walk into marriage.”

But new marriage licences fell to a 13-year low of 5.9m in the first three-quarters of 2021. The number of marriages has declined for eight consecutive years.

A study by Chengdu-based Southwest Jiaotong University in five provinces found the average value for rural couples of engagement gifts, which includes the bride’s dowry and ranges from cash to housing, had surged between 50 and 100 per cent to at least Rmb300,000 ($47,000) over the past seven years. That is more than six times the annual household income.