Beijing is on a mission to get newlyweds to take marriage more seriously. According to a statement by the Civil Affairs Bureau, this means that couples can no longer show up to obtain their marriage license looking like slobs. More specifically, those wearing shorts, T-shirts, sandals and other casual attire will be turned away, BBC reports.
Han Mingxi, the Marriage Registration Director for the bureau, addressed the lax attitude toward marriage among Beijingers.
"It is not unusual to see couples registering in shorts and slippers. It shows their carelessness and disrespect for marriage," he said. "From one glance you can see that marriage registration is being treated as a casual affair, and this is prone to many problems."
The new law will go into effect on July 1. The hope is to promote marriage and to help curb the city’s heightened divorce rate.
The divorce rate in China has been on the rise for the past 10 years or so. In 2014, 3.6 million marriages ended in divorce. Beijing was the worst offender; the capital reported 55,000 divorces in one year.
Only time will tell if this new 'dress for success' rule will have any impact on Beijing's divorce rate.
[Image via Chinanews.com]
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