“A man working at a state-owned enterprise might have a bachelor’s degree, but he won’t even look at a girl with a master’s degree in the civil service,” Feng said.
“There are still a lot of problems with men’s attitudes towards marriage.”
Feng said that often women are better educated, with a good job, but are rejected because of their age.
Some are turning off marriage altogether.
“Women now have their own stable income,” Feng said. “They may be less interested in getting married. And there aren’t many good men.”
The result has been a decline in Luliang’s population.
“The birth rate has dropped seriously,” Feng said, citing examples of kindergartens closing because of lack of demand.
Widespread incentives
Luliang’s predicament is common across China, with the ageing population a major preoccupation of Beijing.
The government released a report in October listing incentives similar to those in Luliang
Shangyou county in Jiangxi province has been giving out cash rewards for each family that has a second or third child, the report said.
