In China, wedding bells ringing in nightclubs, a subway station and on snowy peaks

SINGAPORE/BEIJING: When bank clerk Ren Yingxiao was looking for a honeymoon destination with her partner, they came across a scenic spot in the Xinjiang region that had it all - including a marriage registration office.

"So we thought, why not go there and get our marriage certificate as well?" the 30-year-old said about secluded Sayram Lake, where authorities are trying to attract young Chinese to tie the knot as part of a nationwide push to boost marriage rates and ease the country's demographic crisis.

In May, China started allowing couples to get married anywhere in the country - instead of their place of residence - making the process more convenient and the event more special. Local govts have since started to scramble for marriage tourists, setting up registration offices around scenic spots, at music festivals - and even in subway stations, shopping malls and parks.

For now, the effort is working. Marriages, which demographers use as a proxy for the country's birth rate, rose 22.5% from a year earlier to 1.61 million in the third quarter of 2025, putting China on track to halt a downtrend in annual nuptials, which has gone almost uninterrupted for more than a decade. Last year's 20.5% decline in marriages, to 6.1 million, was the biggest on record.

In the eastern city of Nanjing, couples can get married at the Confucius Temple, where they can have a Ming Dynasty-themed ceremony. In southwestern Chengdu, authorities set up an office on the picturesque Xiling Snow Mountain at an altitude above 3,000 metres. In eastern Hefei, a marriage booth opened in a subway station whose name, Xingfuba, translates to "the place of happiness." And in Shanghai, couples can choose to get their certificate at a nightclub after appearing at a marriage registration office.

In Beijing, 31-year-old lawyer Wang Jieyi and 33-year-old Zhan Yongqiang, a bank employee, registered their marriage at the Huguo Guanyin Temple. "The Huguo Guanyin Temple was originally built to safeguard the peace and tranquility of the nation," Wang said. "And also, in our traditional religious culture, the Guanyin Temple is associated with auspicious events like marriage and giving birth, symbolising happiness and well-being." The couple said the new policy didn't necessarily fast-track their plans to get married but it made the process more convenient as they both work in Beijing and no longer need to go back to their native Shandong province. "It made our lives a little bit easier," said Wang.

Demographer Yi Fuxian from the University of Wisconsin-Madison said the removal of geographic restrictions is making weddings easier in China, but expects the positive results to be "short-lived." With the population declining, Yi expects the number of women aged 20 to 34 to nearly halve to 58 million by 2050. Moreover, he expects young women - and their parents - to give priority to education and economic independence over marriage, in line with global trends.
Reuters