A girl shares a fun moment with her father and her brother in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province. [Photo by Chen Feibo / For China Daily]

In the late 1970s, in a bid to slow population growth in line with the provision of State resources, the one-child policy was strictly implemented, mostly among the urban population. The move was established as a basic State policy in 1982, and finally became law in 2001, with the promulgation of The Population and Family Planning Law of the People's Republic of China.

However, in a largely agrarian society, many families were still influenced by the tradition of carrying on the family line and raising sons to provide for their parents in old age. Many families lost everything after being fined for having more children than stipulated by the policy.

The problem has been exacerbated by a rapid decline in the gender ratio at birth. In 1982, it was 107 boys to 100 girls, while by 2004 it had declined to 121.18 per 100 girls. Last year, the number was 113.51 boys to 100 girls - still well off the optimal figure of 103 to 107 - according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Betrothal debt

The gender imbalance has resulted in a glut of single men of marriageable age in some regions, especially poverty-stricken rural areas. At the beginning of the year, it was reported that the lack of suitable women in the central province of Henan was driving unprecedented frenzied bidding for brides with "betrothal gifts".

About eight years ago, bridegrooms spent 10,000 yuan on gifts for the bride's family, according to a cadre in the province. Now they are paying 10 times that figure. Families toil for many years just to buy a home, and the money for betrothal gifts, feasts and home appliances is borrowed from every possible friend or relative.

"Getting married means a burdensome debt, which is heavier for families with several boys," the cadre said. The rising cost of raising children means both rural and urban families now hope for a daughter if they already have a son.

"Instead of sticking to the tradition of 'the more sons, the more blessings', most people of my generation are content to have a son and a daughter, if possible," said Wang You, from Liulin village, in Henan's Gushi county. He and his wife already have a son and they have discussed the idea of having a daughter.

Conversely, Xuan Xuan, 28, and her husband are hoping for a son. They already have a 2-year-old daughter. For her second conception, the traditional therapist researched folk prescriptions on the internet, and has replaced her husband's favorite fizzy drinks with soda water, which, she believes, can regulate the body's acid and alkaline environment and improve the chances of conceiving a boy.

"If the second baby is a girl, I'll still give birth to her as long as she is healthy," she said. "But before that, we should try what we can."

That was not the case for architect Wang Yuan, when he and his 3-year-old son accompanied his wife to a private hospital in Beijing for her six-month prenatal check.

A month into the pregnancy, Wang sent a sample of his wife's blood to a lab in Hong Kong, which said their second child will be a girl. "If it were a boy, I don't think we would keep it," Wang's wife said. "As our society has become more egalitarian, men and women enjoy the same education and job opportunities."