At six months pregnant with a boy, actress Ma Qian is the envy of her girlfriends, many of whom want to have “dragon babies” as the auspicious year rolls around after a 12-year cycle. She and her husband wasted no time after throwing their wedding banquet in July 2023 to try for a child. “It was all planned. As soon as we signed our papers, I started getting ready,” said the 27-year-old, who lives in Beijing with her 30-year-old husband, an investment manager.
Despite efforts by the government to persuade its young people to have more babies, the Year of the Dragon has traditionally meant a baby bump for the country. “Although the dragon symbol doesn’t have a personal meaning for either of us, we have been taught from childhood that Chinese people are the descendants of the dragon,” said Ms Ma, who added that she has many friends who are now trying to conceive