In Jiangxi, marriage extravagance curtailed

Local authorities in Jiangxi province have enacted reforms in marriage customs in response to the high payment demanded for a bride and paid to her family by the groom. The cost is one of the obstacles for local young people who want to get married in recent years.

Guixi city, the pilot zone for national marriage custom reform in Jiangxi, launched a matchmaking app, China Youth Daily reported. Personal data about single men and women is uploaded on a voluntary basis to the platform to help people find true love.

At the same time, the Guixi government set up matchmaking offices in all of its 31 villages and communities. Leaflets and manuals about new marriage customs are sent to young couples to guide them toward a new idea of marriage.

In Gaoan, another city in Jiangxi, the local branch of the Communist Youth League organized a Lantern Festival activity on Feb 2 that gave local young singles a chance to make new friends and appreciate traditional Chinese culture.

About 100 people, dressed in hanfu (a traditional Chinese style of clothing) took part in the activity. They visited a garden with a lantern in hand; sampled perfume; drew pictures on fans; played touhu, an ancient game in which contestants throw arrows into wine pitchers; played cuju, the ancient form of football,; guessed lantern riddles; and wore flowers on their heads. Through these activities, they got closer to deep Chinese culture.

Liu Xingchen, secretary of Youth League Committee in Gaoan, told China Youth Daily it would hold the event for a long time to come and make it a local cultural feature.

"We want to provide opportunities for young people returning to Gaoan — and single young people working in Gaoan — to make friends, interact with each other and spread excellent traditional culture," Liu added.

In Xinyu's Yushui district, an online mini program was launched by the marriage registration office to offer marriage and family classes to local residents. So far, it has attracted 50,000 users.

It also provided offline public consultation services weekly about marriage and family at the municipal library and district marriage registration office.

In the city's rural areas, civil committees for funerals and wedding affairs were set up to regulate bride prices, marriage gifts and wedding banquets. They have stopped 15 cases of exorbitant payments for brides.

In Shicheng county of Ganzhou, local authorities set limits on the scale of wedding banquets. Members and officials of the Communist Party of China should not invite their superiors, subordinates or related stakeholders.

Wedding procedures have been reduced from 13 to five, and the time is limited to one day. Platter dishes and small dishes, rather than high-end dishes with cigars and alcohol, are encouraged for wedding banquets. It is estimated that about 800 yuan ($116) will be saved per table.