Even in the fertility heartland, China can’t stop its birth rate from falling
Economic pressure is outweighing traditional value of having large families in the Chaoshan area of eastern Guangdong
The coastal region of eastern Guangdong – encompassing the cities of Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang and serving as the setting for the hit indie film Dear You – has long been known for its strong family ties and close-knit clans, with ancestral halls central to village life, and strong networks of siblings that serve as a safety net for family businesses, entrepreneurial endeavours and a far-flung overseas diaspora.
Yet even in this family-first heartland, the birth rate is falling fast. In Shantou, the local birth rate fell from 13.2 per 1,000 in 2021 to 7.89 in 2025, matching the provincial average. In nearby Jieyang, the rate declined from 16.2 in 2019 to 9.35 in 2025, a drop of about 40 per cent in six years.
For Chaoshan’s younger generation, the region’s traditional preference for big families is increasingly running up against the realities of modern life. Both residents and demographers say that without stronger economic support and new measures to encourage births, those traditions may not be enough to keep the region’s fertility rate above the national trend for much longer.
“If I could afford it, I would have three children,” said Sherry Chen, 32, a Chaozhou native. She says there are advantages to having more siblings, including better support for ageing parents and lifelong companionship. But among her peers back home, having only two children is increasingly common due to finances, she said.