How Chinese divorcees pay big bucks to destroy their wedding photos – Firstpost

Wedding and pre-wedding photography is now standard in our society.

Spending thousands of dollars, wearing multiple outfits, and changing locations to showcase your marital bliss in photos during your reception is a great thing.

China, however, refutes this concept.

Professional destruction of wedding photos and other mementos of failed weddings is a growing industry.

All because of the rising number of divorces and the falling number of marriages in the neighboring country.

Marriage rates are falling, divorce rates are rising

According to official statistics, the number of marriages in China is falling – from more than 13 million in 2013 to less than seven million in 2022.

Data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics shows this is the lowest figure since records began in 1985.

Authorities are concerned about the trend, even though there was a slight increase in cases last year, to eight million.

Furthermore, data shows that the number of divorces has increased dramatically.

In 2019, their number reached a record 4.7 million – more than four times more than two decades earlier.

The government has tried to crack down on divorces by introducing a new law in 2021 that imposes a 30-day “cooling off” period before a divorce can be granted.

Despite a brief decline, the number of divorces rose in 2023, increasing by 25% compared to the previous year.

These two cultural changes have created a growing demographic problem, which is being exacerbated by the economic slowdown, an ageing population and a declining birth rate.

A growing business

In China, great importance has long been attached to stable and harmonious families.

However, the rising divorce rate indicates that more and more young people are rejecting this stigma and choosing not to marry.

Because of this cultural trend, divorce photography is a thriving industry today.

Photos of couples signing divorce papers and posing with their divorce certificates have appeared on Chinese social media site Xiaohongshu.

One user shared a photo of her marriage and divorce certificate, writing, “29 years old. Happy divorce.”

In fact, companies now offer services that involve the ceremonial disposal of old wedding photos and other unpleasant mementos of your ex-spouse.

On the outskirts of the Chinese capital, Beijing, there is a factory where Liu Wei and his team help divorcing couples destroy traces of their relationship.

The faces in old wedding photos are spray-painted to protect people’s privacy and then thrown into a crusher along with other mementos from the past.

The entire process is documented for those who want to move forward and close the case.

Liu calls himself a “love story morgue operator.”

“We are the crematorium of these photos when their life cycle comes to an end,” he said. The Washington Postusing another metaphor related to death.

The item disposal service is offered at prices ranging from 669 rupees ($8) to 2,339 rupees ($28).

Liu says his services are in high demand, having snapped nearly 2,500 wedding photos of couples since his company debuted in 2021.

While it is difficult to estimate the size of the market and its expansion potential, Gary Ng, an economist at French investment firm Natixis, says: CNN that the rising divorce rate in China means “there will definitely be more economic activity there.”

Photographer Tan is already planning how to expand his business, which now captures the moments of divorce. Now he plans to lure back former clients if they reconcile.

“I’ll give them an 18 percent discount if these two people get remarried and ask me to take their photos,” he says. CNN.

Behind the scenes

According to Peng Xiujian, a senior researcher at Australia Victoria University, which studies demographic trends in China.

“The idea of ​​staying in an unhappy marriage ‘for the sake of appearances’ or out of a sense of duty is losing its appeal,” she said.

Peng also linked the decline in weddings to social and economic problems such as the high cost of living, a competitive job market and excessive work pressure.

For those who choose divorce, it’s no longer seen as something to be ashamed of, Tan says. “Both parties still have feelings… and they want to commemorate the relationship.”

“Divorce is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be a good thing. So there is no reason to be sad about it,” Liu told CNN.

With information from the agency