Yes, absolutely, you can have two daughters (or any two children) in China now; the strict one-child policy ended in 2016, allowing all couples two children, and later, China even moved to a three-child policy and eventually removed all limits, so having two daughters is fully permitted and common.
Faced with a shrinking workforce and a rapidly aging population, China scrapped its one-child policy in 2016, allowing couples to have two children, then three in 2021.
Do families exist to support the government or does government exist to support family? The Chinese Communist Party recently announced they will increase the number of children families are allowed to have from two to three.
The 4-2-1 family structure refers to families in which three generations coexist in a variety of family forms. The structure emphasizes a social living community, including four older people (paternal and maternal grandparents), two parents, and one child, based on relationships of marriage, kinship, and adoption.
To cope with China's demographic decline. China has officially banned foreign adoptions of its children, ending a practice that has been in place for more than three decades. The policy adjustment was made to best suit China's current situation.
Intercountry adoption between China and the United States is not currently possible, with very limited exceptions (see below). China's Ministry of Civil Affairs announced that China will no longer carry out intercountry adoptions as of August 28, 2024, except for certain cases involving relatives (see below).
From 2016 to 2021, it had been implemented in China, replacing the country's previous one-child policy, until it was replaced by a three-child policy to mitigate the country's falling birth rates. In July 2021, all family size limits as well as penalties for exceeding them were removed.
The "Three Ts" in China refer to the highly sensitive topics of Taiwan, Tibet, and Tiananmen Square, which are major taboos and subjects of strict censorship, with discussions often discouraged or forbidden due to their challenge to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) narrative and authority. Foreigners are often advised to avoid these topics to prevent discomfort, legal issues, or awkwardness with Chinese citizens.
Yes, approximately 90% of people in China own their homes, making it one of the highest homeownership rates globally, a result of significant housing reforms starting in 1998 that privatized public housing, alongside strong cultural emphasis on owning property as a marker of stability and a prerequisite for marriage, though it's important to note ownership is of the building, not the land, which remains state-owned. Urban rates hover around 87%, while rural rates are over 95%, with many families owning multiple properties.
The one child per family policy is a bit of a misnomer. A better way of phrasing it would be a one birth per family policy. Women who give birth to twins, triplets, or more aren't penalized in any way. In fact, the restriction to a single birth is only strictly enforced in densely-populated areas.
Abortion regulations may vary depending on the rules of the province. In an effort to curb sex-selective abortion, Jiangxi and Guizhou restrict non-medically necessary abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy, while throughout most of China abortions are legal after 14 weeks.
In 1979, China designed its one-child policy, which was rolled out nationally from 1980 to curb population growth by limiting couples to having just one child. By this point, China's fertility rate — the number of children per woman — had already fallen quickly in the early 1970s, as you can see in the chart.
The three-child policy (Chinese: 三孩政策; pinyin: Sānhái Zhèngcè), whereby a couple can have three children, is a family planning policy in the People's Republic of China.
China's three-child policy was implemented in May 2021 to stimulate a rise in fertility levels.
In 2024, the average annual per capita disposable income of households in China amounted to approximately 41,300 yuan. Annual per capita income in Chinese saw a significant rise over the last decades and is still rising at a high pace. During the last ten years, per capita disposable income roughly doubled in China.
Raising a child to the age of 17 in China costs an average of $75,700, the study found. In January, official figures showed that China's population fell for a third year in a row in 2024. China recorded 9.54 million babies born in 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
A society where problems are hidden rather than solved can appear “orderly,” but that order is often achieved through coercion and silence, not care and dignity. Homelessness exists, but it is made largely invisible through a mix of short-term containment, forced removal, and strict control over reporting.
According to the China Real Estate Index System (CREIS), as of October 2025, the average price of newly built residential properties across 100 monitored cities stood at RMB 16,973 (USD 2,389) per square meter, while second-hand homes averaged RMB 13,268 (USD 1,867) per square meter.
China's "3-hour rule" for minors restricts children under 18 to playing online video games for only three hours per week, specifically from 8 PM to 9 PM on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, to combat gaming addiction and improve health. Implemented by the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) in 2021, the rule mandates gaming companies use real-name verification and facial recognition to enforce limits, though some children bypass it using adult accounts.
In 2018, according to Business Insider, China ordered that the Winnie the Pooh theme be banned and replaced with a new one due to the character's use in censored internet memes.
Although wearing revealing clothing isn't illegal in China, a lot of guys will leer at you. And that just makes for an unpleasant trip. So, I suggest you avoid wearing low-cut shirts that show your cleavage or shorts so short they ride up you.
In summary
Twins were allowed and both would be legal children. Having twins did not mean you could have more children beyond what the policy allowed, unless there were other policy exceptions. The rules have since changed, and as of 2016, families are generally allowed two or more children in China.
China had an average household size of 2.98 people in 2021. The indicator recorded a year-on-year decline of 0.7% in 2021. Between 2010 and 2021, the indicator decreased by 10.8%. The average household size in China was highest in the year 2010 and lowest in the year 2021, between 2010 and 2021.