Opinion | Want to reduce Shanghai's divorce rates? Just scrap those property-cooling measures

The Chinese traditionally view marriage as a lifelong union. But as Chinese society becomes more open and the economy flourishes, the rate of divorce among young couples on the mainland has been rapidly rising.

In Shanghai, the country's commercial hub, 61,000 couples ended their marriages last year, up 37 per cent from 2012. The number, which accounted for only divorces by agreement, did not even include judicial divorces, in which couples have to wait for a judicial declaration to formalise their split.

It's little wonder the rising trend has become a cause of concern for the city's officials.

It's an open secret that many divorces in Shanghai are in fact fake as couples seek ways to sidestep stringent housing policies implemented to cool the property market and bring down soaring home prices.

The city's divorce rates started rising in 2011 after - under Beijing's directives to curb housing demand - local families were barred from buying a third apartment. Splitting up would allow a previously married couple to own two homes each.

Most of such couples who undergo divorce in name still live together as a family, and anecdotal evidence shows they are comfortable with the arrangement. Some have said the marriage certificate was just a piece of paper to them that had no impact on their daily lives and relationship.

Last year, the government's plan to impose a 20 per cent capital gains tax on the selling of flats forced a new round of couples into fake divorces.