Seen in both rural and urban areas, most of the country's family planning policy posters are now updated with messages with more of a human touch.
Since late July, about 76 percent of the posters nationwide have been substituted with new ones.
The National Population and Family Planning Commission described the new posters as more "reader-friendly, in color, bearing both photos and words, and are more human-oriented".
Messages on the new posters include: "Mother Earth is too Tired to Sustain More Children" and "Both Boys and Girls are in Parents' Hearts".
A public survey by the Center for International Communication Studies of Tsinghua University revealed 43 percent of the respondents gave the new posters the thumbs up.
"They are more acceptable, amiable, sensitively made and promote the policy in various forms, with real life pictures," said Wang Yu, a rural resident of Beijing in her early 30s and a mother of a girl.
The nationwide campaign was launched after the commission issued a ban in early July on outrageous and ridiculous slogans like "Popularize the First Child, Control the Second Child, Prohibit the Third Child".
Slogans with vulgar and harsh language stoked anger among the public and possibly led to misunderstanding and even objection to the national policy, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing Zhang Weiqing, minister of the commission.
He urged local family planning officials to use understandable, persuasive and popular expressions in slogans, warning them to avoid relentless and rude wording, according to the Xinhua report.
Since 1979, population growth has slowed down by the family planning policy, which encourages one couple to have only one child. However, ethnic minorities and some rural couples can have two children.
（英语点津 Linda 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, producing current affairs shows and documentaries.
