Translated with AI
Modern Chinese youth are radically changing their approach to organizing weddings, abandoning traditional expensive ceremonies in favor of creative and more affordable alternatives, Renmin Ribao reports, citing the Huanqiuwan website.
A striking example of the new trends is the change in wedding banquets. Thus, in May, newlyweds from the city of Taiyuan / Shanxi Province, Northern China / instead of a banquet hall in a hotel, held their wedding in a restaurant of the Haidilao chain, which specializes in the traditional Chinese samovar "hot pot". The couple invited 140 guests, spending only 22.5 thousand yuan /about 3133 US dollars/. The video of this unusual celebration gained 30 million views on social networks.
“This wedding ceremony not only saved on expensive hall rental, but also received approval from family and friends due to its originality,” the bride Zhao Yiming happily said.
Other innovative solutions include weddings without a cortege, without a bride ransom and without witnesses, as well as outdoor ceremonies in picturesque places and themed celebrations in anime or neo-Chinese style. Instead of luxury cars, newlyweds choose public transport or bicycles to travel to the bride, and expensive alcoholic drinks are replaced with tea or milk tea.
Chi Yunjia, associate professor at the Faculty of Economics and Management at Huazhong Agricultural University, noted that from the perspective of sociology and consumer psychology, young Chinese value self-expression and personal experiences more than demonstrating status and external gloss.
According to the China Wedding Expo, overall wedding spending has dropped by 10-15% in 2023-2024. "Saving does not mean lower quality. The concept of 'less spending, better effect' is becoming more popular among young people," says Zhang Wen, a wedding planner from Beijing. Modern newlyweds are more sensible when planning their wedding budget and prefer non-standard and original elements of the ceremony.
These changes are forcing the wedding industry to adapt. Traditional service providers are facing new challenges, while new niches are opening up: full-service weddings, outdoor venues, theme planning. Even tea brands like HeyTea are getting in on the action — the company has developed special wedding menus and sold more than 200,000 glasses of “wedding tea” in 2024 alone.
(Editor: Deng Jie, Yang Qian)
