To most people, a wedding is simply a happy union of two people. But for the nouveau riche on the mainland it is a chance to display their affluence.
A wedding thrown in Shenzhen last Sunday made domestic headlines yesterday when it was revealed the family spent 5 million yuan on food alone and hired Hong Kong pop stars to entertain 2,200 guests at a new five-star hotel.
The couple, a Shenzhen groom and his Hong Kong bride, took the banquet rooms on six floors, the Southern Metropolis News reported.
The 1,500 or so cars taken to the reception used all the hotel's parking places as well as those of nearby office buildings. Guests were given a 500 yuan gift on arrival and sat down to a meal that included roast pig, shark's fin, lobster and abalone.
The performances of the Hong Kong and Taiwanese entertainers were recorded by staff from a TV station and transmitted live to other rooms via satellite, the report said.
Even though the hotel had equipment that could have transmitted the footage in a more convenient and cost-effective way, the couple insisted on satellite. This extravaganza was just the latest example of a trend which sees mainland couples forking out fortunes.