BEIJING (SCMP): After years of unsuccessful blind dates, a man from southern China found love with a Belarusian woman who is a head taller than him, and they renewed their vows at a government promotional event celebrating traditional Chinese weddings.
Tian Jun, 32, from Hunan province, shares insights into his cross-cultural married life on Douyin, where he has attracted 700,000 followers.
Standing at 158cm, Tian is married to Namei, a 176cm tall Belarusian model. Their Douyin videos showcase the couple communicating in both English and Chinese, with Namei proficiently speaking and understanding Mandarin for their daily interactions.
Under pressure from his parents, Tian went on numerous blind dates over five years, but he never found a girlfriend he truly liked.
While working as a modelling agent, he eventually met Namei, who was pursuing her modelling career in China, and they fell in love.
“I always believed I could find my true love, and that’s when my wife, Namei, appeared,” Tian said.
The couple had originally married in China four years ago. Tian recalled that at the time, Namei was only 20 years old, enjoying the prime of her youth.
“I love my wife deeply, so I respect her decision not to have children back then,” he shared.
Over the years, Tian has accompanied Namei on travels across China, embracing life to the fullest. Now, Namei feels ready to start a family and plans to begin trying for a baby by the end of the year.
On Nov 30, they joined other couples in a traditional Chinese mass wedding in downtown Changsha, the capital of Hunan province.
A total of 48 couples took part, following nine traditional wedding rituals accompanied by the sounds of classical bells and drums.
According to the Changsha Evening News, all participants received training to perform the rituals beforehand.
Government officials stated that the event aimed to promote traditional Chinese wedding culture and encourage young people to fall in love and marry.
Tian posted a video of their participation, expressing his joy: “I got married again! I’m so happy to celebrate this grand Han wedding with my beloved wife and my father-in-law, promoting traditional Chinese customs.”
In the video, Tian and Namei donned black and red Han dynasty wedding attire and performed the He Jin ritual, drinking sweet wine from each other’s bitter gourd cups, symbolising their commitment to share both joys and challenges.
They also cut locks of hair and tied them together as part of the Jie Fa ritual, representing their everlasting bond.
Photos of the couple in their traditional wedding outfits, highlighting their striking height difference, went viral on mainland social media.
One netizen commented on Douyin: “I can see from Namei’s smile in the wedding photos that she loves her husband very much.”
Another added: “The height and cultural differences can’t stop true love. I wish this couple all the best!”
A third user reflected on the current trend of low marriage desire among young people in China, stating: “After watching this mass wedding, I feel that marrying someone you truly love and building a family is a wonderful thing. Young people shouldn’t shy away from or oppose marriage.”
As young people in China increasingly prioritise individualism, career growth, and financial stability, marriage rates have declined. In the third quarter, only 1.32 million couples registered for marriage, marking a drop of more than 25 per cent from the previous year. - South China Morning Post/ANN
