In China, love letters with 7 year delay to tackle divorce rate

Addressing the problem of a growing divorce rate in Beijing, newly weds can send each other sealed love letters, which are stored by Beijing Post and delivered seven years later.

Recent ideas to spice up the morning post have included NOTANOTHERBILL and Postcarden, and it seems variations of the humble greetings card have not yet been exhausted, with China’s post office launching a new love letter service. Addressing the problem of a growing divorce rate — in Beijing divorce rates have doubled since 2004 to 21,000 last year — newly weds can send each other sealed love letters, which are stored by Beijing Post and delivered seven years later. While the scheme may seem a playful reference to the “seven year itch”, it was in fact launched jointly with Beijing’s Civil Affairs Bureau, hinting to a more serious motive for the initiative. Work-related and money-related stress have been blamed for the rising number of divorces and a post office official to China’s state media commented, “We hope the love letters may save some marriages in the future”. Special stamps, postmarks, postcards, envelopes and even a Love Passport, which can be stamped every anniversary, make up the romantic product range available from China’s post office. While the success of the idea won’t be known for another seven years, what is clear is that the symbol of the love letter still holds its weight despite new and social media. Are there still more greetings card ideas that will get people posting?