Chinese colleges encourage students to fall in love amid declining birth rate

In China, two colleges are encouraging students to use extended spring vacations to feel the beauty of spring and love. This comes amid the Chinese government's initiative to motivate the young couple to have more children to reverse the declining birth rate in the country. 

The Sichuan Southwest Vocational College of Civil Aviation in Chengdu extended a one-day tomb-sweeping national holiday to a full week. 

The varsity informed all the students and staff members about the decision taken through a notice titled ‘Holiday Notice on ‘Floating Spring', according to a news report published by Fox News. 

According to the official notice, students were motivated to leave the classroom, leave the campus, and enjoy nature and feel the beauty of spring and love.

The University of Xiamen has also taken a similar step and granted a whole week off to its students. The news accumulated numerous reactions on Chinese social media platforms with the majority of users saying that they were envious of the students and faculty at these two universities. Some also hoped that this may become a national norm in China. 

China's population shrank last year for the first time in six decades. In 2022, the national birth rate hit a record low - 6.77 births per 1,000 people.

The mainland Chinese population stood at around 1,411,750,000 at the end of 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported, a decrease of 850,000 from the end of the previous year.

Analysts have pointed out, the soaring cost of living -- as well as a growing number of women in the workforce and seeking higher education -- as reasons behind the slowdown.

However, they warned world's most populous country is facing a looming demographic crisis at a time when its workforce is aging which could stymie economic growth and pile pressure on strained public coffers.