A couple poses for photos with their marriage certificates at a marriage registration office in the Xuanwu Lake Park in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, May 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

 

As Central China's Hubei Province has recently announced an extension of marriage leave to 15 days, there has been a total of 28 provinces across China which have officially extended marriage leave, Southern Metropolis Daily reported on Tuesday.

In mid-July, Hubei announced to extend marriage leave from three days to 15 days, making it the third Chinese province to make such announcement in 2025, following East China's Shandong Province which extended its marriage leave to as long as 18 days in January and Southwest China's Sichuan Province which extended its marriage leave to as long as 25 days.

According Southern Metropolis Daily, among 28 provinces, North China's Shanxi Province and Northwest China's Gansu Province offer the longest marriage leave, with eligible couples entitled to 30 days. Additionally, the maximum marriage leave in Central China's Henan Province and Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province can reach respectively 28 days and 25 days.

Currently, the marriage leave in South China's Guangdong Province is still three days. Regarding this, some netizens from Guangdong have appealed on online, calling for an extension to 10-15 days.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the incentive measures were rolled out amid marriage registration declines in China. Official data show that 1.81 million couples registered to tie the knot in the first quarter of 2025, down 8 percent year on year. After a brief rebound in 2023, registrations fell again last year, reaching the lowest level since 1980.