The six-storey INS Land complex in Shanghai is usually thronged with partygoers swarming nightclubs dedicated to hip hop, disco and metal. But this month it made a very different pitch to the city’s young: as a venue for wedding ceremonies.
When the Financial Times visited the site, construction workers were setting up a lavish reception room bedecked with piles of fake grass where couples will register their marriage and celebrate with friends with a themed musical performance.
INS Land is part of an unexpected boom in weddings in China, after officials relaxed rules on marriage registration. In what the state-owned China Daily described as a “youth-oriented transformation of public services” to encourage marriage, couples are now allowed to tie the knot in far-flung holiday resorts and even music festivals. Civil servants are stationed at popular wedding venues to handle the paperwork.