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Some Chinese cities desperately want their residents to get hitched.

Amid the lowest national marriage rate in decades, several cities in the eastern province of Jiangxi have launched matchmaking (mai mối) initiatives, with one city going as far as creating a database of its unmarried residents, The effort is said to be part of the provincial plan to “reform marriage customs,” which will promote new traditions while getting rid of the archaic practice of betrothal gifts (của hồi môn), including cash and other items.

The city of Guixi has already rolled out a mini-app with matchmaking services for local residents and also plans to organize events for singles seeking to mingle. As of Friday, information about individuals who were still single (độc thân), however, wasn’t accessible on the mini-app, and it’s unclear if the decision to join is voluntary or if the authorities would make the information available to all.

Sixth Tone’s calls for comments to the “matchmaking consulting hotline” number on the mini-app went unanswered Friday.

China’s marriage rate has been freefalling lately, as many young people are less keen on settling down compared with the previous generation. Only 11.58 million people got married for the first time in 2021, the lowest number since 1985.

The lackluster attitude toward marriage and the country’s record low birth rates have created new challenges for local governments trying to boost the figures.

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