BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) — A total of 5,000 couples, including newlyweds from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, will attend a mass wedding ceremony on Sept. 22, the All-China Women’s Federation said Wednesday.

The traditional Chinese wedding ceremony, organized as a non-profit event by the association and five other institutions, aims to promote simplified weddings and prevent outdated customs such as extravagant engagement gifts.

The event will be held in Beijing, with ceremonies broadcast simultaneously across the country via video. Newlyweds can apply to participate in the mass wedding with their marriage certificates via the association’s official WeChat account.

Data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs shows that China recorded 7.68 million marriages in 2023, an increase of 12.4 percent from the previous year.

China recently simplified the marriage registration process and announced that couples will no longer be required to submit their residence registration documents when getting married. ■