‘Child marriage’ at 16 ... but it’s true love: teenage couple’s wedding photos become internet sensation in China

Photographs of a Chinese wedding banquet featuring a couple aged only 16 – too young to be legally married – have gone viral on the nation’s social media, a newspaper in China reports.

After pictures of the February 15 traditional ceremony in Guangxi province were posted on social media, the hashtag “#13 year-old boy becomes groom” became a hot topic in weibo, China’s version of Twitter, The Beijing News reported on Tuesday.

READ MORE: ‘We’re more mature than we look’: China’s teenage newlyweds share their views on love

One photo shows a baby-faced boy in a suit, beside his girl, wearing a white wedding dress. The couple are seated on a bed in a room cheerily decorated with brightly coloured balloons and ribbons.

However, the boy, identified only by his surname, Zhang, denied that he was just 13 years old.

He told the newspaper on Monday that he and his future wife,surnamed Wu, were both aged 16.

The legal age for marriage in China is 22 for men and 20 for women, so the couple could only hold a traditional wedding ceremony, and would have to wait another six years before they can be legally married in the eyes of the law.

Zhang said the holding of the traditional wedding ceremony had been approved by both sets of parents, who were also in favour of the couple living together.