China Opens Marriage Registration Desks at Airports, Temples and Clubs

China is taking marriage registration beyond government offices as it tries to encourage young people to marry. New registration desks have appeared in places including banks, hospitals, subway stations and nightclubs.

In August, a branch of China Postal Savings Bank in northern China’s Tianjin became the first Chinese bank to offer marriage registration services. The move drew mocking reactions online, with some users joking that the only more unusual location would be a hospital.

That joke soon became reality. On Qixi, a traditional Chinese lovers’ festival, the Linzi District Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Zibo, Shandong province, announced that couples could register their marriages there.

The hospital’s service also includes premarital health checks and counseling before pregnancy, allowing couples to access those services alongside marriage registration.

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The only thing more extreme would be getting married in a hospital.