The first trip Sophia made after Beijing reopened its borders this year was to a clinic in Hong Kong to freeze her eggs. The procedure, along with other fertility treatments, is only available in mainland China to married women.

“During the lockdowns, I felt very lonely for the first time in my life. I realised I might be single forever and needed to plan my life. Even if I don’t find a partner, I am sure I want to have a child,” said the 34-year-old tech worker from Shenzhen, one of many women to head to a clinic in the Chinese territory in search of fertility treatment.

China faces a bleak demographic outlook as the working-age population shrinks and the number of retirees balloons. Last year, the country’s total headcount fell by 850,000 people to 1.41bn as deaths outstripped births for the first time, a trend that has pushed policymakers to introduce measures to boost fertility such as cash handouts for couples with more than one child.