What changed
Lijiang’s destination-wedding business is turning a wedding into a compact travel itinerary: marriage registration, a small ceremony, photography and a short honeymoon in one place. During the 2026 National Day holiday, about 200 couples a day reportedly visited Yulong Snow Mountain for wedding photography, 90% from outside Yunnan, while the city’s destination-wedding industry reached an annual scale of more than 1.1 billion yuan.
Why it matters
This is a cheaper, lighter alternative to the traditional hotel wedding. One Guangdong couple spent more than 10,000 yuan on makeup, outfits and transport, replacing a large banquet and extended ceremony schedule with a smaller event and travel experience.
The model also changes who can participate. Since nationwide marriage registration took effect on May 10, 2025, couples no longer need to return to their registered hometown to marry. That makes Lijiang easier to use as both a legal checkpoint and a holiday destination.
The business is spreading beyond local tourism operators. Lijiang now has at least 1,000 travel-photography and destination-wedding businesses, and customers from Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam are reportedly increasing. The city is betting that the ceremony is only the opening act: the spending continues through photography, transport, accommodation and leisure travel.
The size of the market is still an estimate, and the reported daily Yulong Snow Mountain figure may not represent the whole sector. But the direction is clear: Lijiang is selling not just a wedding day, but a ready-made memory of the trip around it.
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