A couple poses for a photo after receiving their marriage certificate at the marriage registration office of a civil affairs bureau in Xiangyang, Central China's Hubei Province on February 22, 2022. Photo: VCG

 
Civil affairs authorities in Changzhou and Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, and Bengbu, East China's Anhui Province have released their annual marriage data for 2022 in the past few days. The data shows that the number of marriage registrations hit a new high in Hangzhou, while the average age of marriage has been pushed back to 30 in many cities.
 
According to the Hangzhou Civil Affairs Bureau, a total of 65,315 marriages were registered in the city in 2022, including 65,109 marriages by mainland residents and 206 marriages involving residents from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, the island of Taiwan, overseas Chinese and foreigners.

The number of marriage registrations in Hangzhou increased by 5,488 over 2021, hitting a record high in four years. It is worth noting that Hangzhou was selected as the "happiest city in China" in 2022. Meanwhile, 17,027 divorces were registered in 2022, up 2.5 percent year on year.
 
According to the Bureau, when it comes to the age difference between married couples, it is still the dominant trend that men are one to four years older than women, but the percentage of women who get married to younger men continues to rise.
 
In 2022, 21,438 marriages and 6,971 divorces were registered in Changzhou, according to data released by the city's Civil Affairs Bureau. The number of marriages fell compared to 2021, with 289 fewer, and the number of divorces increased, with 298 more. On the whole, Changzhou's marital status is relatively stable, experts noted.
 
A total of 23,890 couples registered for marriage and 6,286 couples registered for divorce in Yangzhou in 2022, according to the city's 2022 marriage registration report released by the city's Civil Affairs Bureau. The number of marriages was down by 1,418 compared with the previous year, but the number of divorces rebounded.
 
In 2022, the average age of first marriage in Hangzhou was 28.8 years for men and 27.5 years for women, 0.3 years and 0.4 years later than that in 2021. Moreover, the average age of marriage registration was 31.7 years for men and 30 years for women. The most common age for marriage registration is still between 25 to 29.
 
In Changzhou, people aged 25 to 29 were the main force for marriage registration in 2022, with the average age of marriage registration being 31.05.
 
In 2022, the average age of marriage registration in Yangzhou was 30.27.
 
Yang Jinrui, an official in charge of demographic surveillance and family development, pointed out at a press conference by the commission on January 20, 2022 that the post-90s and post-00s, as the new subjects of marriage and childbearing, mostly grew up and worked in urban areas, have long years of education, face greater pressure of job competition, and the phenomenon of delayed marriage and childbearing is very prominent.