China man with small family invites the internet to his wedding, then 30,000 people show up with gifts including livestock, appliances, and a used car
The groom posted an open invitation online, and reports say thousands of strangers traveled to his village with gifts.
A groom in China who feared few relatives would come to his wedding invited the internet, and around 30,000 people reportedly turned up. According to Dexerto, he posted the invitation on social media because only a handful of his relatives could come to the ceremony.
“Besides my older brother, there’s been no one else. Just myself, saving 167,500 RMB for the wedding,” he states. That amount is roughly $25,000 based on current exchange rates. Viewers replied to his video saying they would be there, and about 10,000 people reportedly showed up in the days leading up to it.
Money has shaped other wedding stories on TikTok too. A bride served McDonald’s burgers to guests at a $9,000 wedding. A TikToker states she will skip a destination wedding unless the couple pays for her travel. She puts that cost at about $4,000.
Guests traveled from across China
AsiaOne states the groom’s grandmother raised him and his older brother, and says he is from Zhaotong in Yunnan province. The outlet states he worried his guest list would not fill even a few banquet tables and that he reportedly saved more than 160,000 yuan for the day. He then put out a video on Douyin, which it calls China’s version of TikTok, and many people traveled to his village.
Volunteer chefs offered to cook, while others helped decorate the venue and handle logistics, the report states. A well-wisher reportedly supplied a Maybach for the couple, and supporters arranged a convoy of wedding cars. Local authorities helped with crowd management, traffic control and food safety after the event moved to a larger public space.
Local reports described the gathering as possibly “China’s biggest ever wedding,” and the crowd disrupted Yiliang County. Hotels there had no rooms left for people arriving from various regions, according to one report. Other reports observed that businesses in the area got large boosts and that some visitors extended their stay.
Content creator Ur.Chinese.Unc states that visitors from Hong Kong, Sichuan and Chongqing brought a used car, home appliances, apples, cows and live ducks for the newlyweds. The creator stated that roughly 30,000 people attended on the day and that over 40 chefs came to feed them.
According to the creator, guests also tidied the town square afterward so thoroughly that it showed no trace of the previous day’s celebration. All figures and gift details come from the creator’s account and unnamed local reports and could not be verified independently.
Time News adds that the groom expected about a dozen local residents when he posted his invitation, and that thousands came instead. The report states he earned his savings through odd jobs in textile factories, cooked-food sales and parcel delivery. Vehicles with plates from Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Guangdong and Fujian reached Yiliang County. A Sichuan farmer gave two cattle valued at 20,000 yuan, and a wedding industry worker drove 12 hours from Hunan to decorate.
The head chef’s team used two tons of chicken and ran 50 cooking stations, serving late arrivals past 2:00 a.m., according to the report. “People have come all this way, and what I fear most is not letting them eat well,” the groom states. Relatives and close family gave registered cash gifts at the entrance, while well-wishers who joined online brought ingredients, cooking skills and labor instead.
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