China's new 30-day 'cooling off' period aimed at preventing divorce has some couples scalping tickets to skip the line in divorce court

• China reported a 70% drop in its divorce rate in the first quarter of 2021.
• The reason - a "cooling-off" law that mandates that couples wait one month before splitting to prevent rash decisions.
• But some described the waiting period to get a divorce as "30 days of hell."

Chinese couples wishing to divorce have taken to scalping tickets to jump the line in divorce court, after the country imposed a 30-day "cooling-off period" before granting a divorce.

The program is meant to give them time to "calm down" before making their split official - and it appears to have worked. The country's divorce rate plummeted by 70% in the first quarter of 2021.

Data released this week by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs indicated that 296,000 divorce applications went through during the first three months of this year. According to state-run media Global Times, this was a sharp dip from 1.05 million divorces recorded in the first quarter of 2020 and 1.06 million splits in the same period in 2019.

The law was implemented in a bid to boost China's flagging birth rate by discouraging impulsive divorces.

The law was also meant to address a sharp spike in divorces - as Bloomberg reported in March last year that the number of couples getting divorced every year in China tripled over the last 15 years. Around 4.5 million couples split in 2018, in comparison to 1.3 million divorces in 2003.

After the new law was enacted in China on January 1 this year, it became much more difficult to dissolve a marriage. First, couples are subjected to a multi-step process, during which marriage counseling services are offered. Then they're given a 30-day cooling-off period, after which the couple must visit the local civil affairs bureau to send in a second application for their official divorce documents.

But if the couple fails to apply again between 30 and 60 days after they file for divorce, their divorce application will be canceled automatically.

The regulation coming into force resulted in people rushing to get their divorce finalized, with appointments booked so far in advance that scalpers in Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen started selling slots to couples.

"30 days of hell" - cooling-off period draws mixed reactions from couples in crisis

Couples who went through the 30-day cooling-off period reported widely varying experiences with the law - with some saying it helped save their relationship, while others viewed it as a curse.

Insider spoke to Yiheng Cui, 31, a Shanghainese man who split from his wife in April after four years of marriage. Cui described the one-month waiting period as "30 days of hell," saying that the month of waiting caused "so much more pain" than was necessary for both of them.

"We definitely did not fall into the category of people who were divorcing on impulse, as our marriage was not working for at least a year. Having to wait to get separated really prolonged and intensified the anger and frustration we both felt toward each other," Cui said.

He said that waiting 30 days to dissolve their marriage prompted more fights, as the couple felt compelled to re-hash old arguments and bring up year-long disagreements. Cui recommended that the cooling-off period could be "shortened" or made optional.

"I wanted to move on as soon as possible. It felt unnecessary because there was nothing more to say and no need to calm down. At least on my end, I was definitely done with her," he said. "Making it a huge hassle just to get divorced might make some people just give in and stay married - but are they really happy?"

But Ana Xu, 29, who lives in Guangzhou, told Insider that the cooling-off period "saved her marriage," as it gave both she and her husband time to "re-evaluate" whether they wanted to be together.

"We had a big fight, and very nasty things were said on both sides. I was so angry with him, and I wanted to leave him straightaway," Xu said.

But after Xu and her husband filed for divorce in March, they made up after two weeks and canceled their application. They are back together, and Xu says they are now "stronger than ever."

"We had time to calm down and talk things through because we realized that after the 30 days was up, our marriage would be over for real. That put things into perspective, and we decided that we wanted to work on our relationship," Xu said.

"The 30 days worked for us, but I'm not sure if it will be the same for other people. Maybe our problems were more short-term issues, and we were more impulsive when we filed for divorce. But if infidelity were involved, I don't think I'd want to wait 30 days," Xu said.

Speaking to the Guardian, writer and social commentator Lijia Zhang said the cooling-off period most definitely played a role in reducing divorces.

"In recent years, both 'flash marriage' and 'flash divorce' have become fashionable," Zhang said, adding that the law could also have the effect of preventing couples falsifying their divorce to dodge limits on how much property they can buy.

The law as written does not apply to divorces where domestic violence and abuse is involved - but tragic incidences of murder have raised questions about whether the law, in practice, leaves more vulnerable parties open to violence.

For instance, the China Digital Times reported on cases of women being murdered during such "cooling-off periods." One of them was Xiaofang Kan, 30, a factory worker in Hubei whose husband hacked her to death with an ax during the cooling-off period after disagreements arose over how their property should be split.