ORPHAN INVITED STRANGERS TO HIS WEDDING, THOUSANDS CAME
A 24-year-old orphan groom in China’s Yunnan province invited strangers online to his wedding because he feared too few relatives would show up to fill the tables. Xu Chenghong of Zhaotong, who lost his father at age three and was later raised by a grandmother who also died, got far more guests than he bargained for, according to AsiaOne.
Xu’s mother remarried two years after his father died, leaving him and his older brother with their grandmother. He later worked a string of jobs and reportedly saved more than 160,000 yuan to marry his girlfriend, Luo Chui. VnExpress put that at about US$24,000.
As the date got close, he realized he did not have enough family and friends to fill even a few banquet tables. On October 25, 2026, he posted a video on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, inviting anyone who wanted to come and share the day with him.
He reportedly expected 10 to 20 people to respond. Instead, the video went viral and people began traveling to his village from across China.
Guests brought household appliances, food, farm produce, livestock and wedding supplies. Volunteer chefs offered to cook the banquet, others helped decorate, and supporters lined up a convoy of wedding cars. One well-wisher reportedly supplied a Maybach for the newlyweds.
The crowd was too big for the original venue, so the wedding moved to a larger public square. Local authorities stepped in to handle crowds, traffic and food safety. Shanghai Daily’s City News Service reported that nearby hotels were full by the eve of the wedding.
VnExpress reported that nearly 20,000 people traveled to Luowang Town ahead of the wedding, which took place on October 31, 2026. That figure is an estimate rather than a confirmed guest count.
City News Service reporters saw strangers dancing shoulder to shoulder in the square. A woman who came from Nanjing told Knews she had been moved by Xu’s efforts to build a life for himself.
Online well-wishers were not expected to hand over cash. The person handling the gift register told City News Service that customary gifts were accepted from relatives and family friends, but not from people who came because of the video.
Chinese social media users called the day a reminder of human kindness. As one report put it, “For Xiao Xiao Xu, the response meant that his wedding would not be defined by the family members he had lost or the empty tables he had feared.”
Strangers at weddings are becoming a theme, as with the couple whose site lets guests pay to attend, though Xu’s version came with considerably more livestock.
The effect has reached the local economy. On October 31, 2026, Zhaotong’s culture and tourism bureau told The Paper it was discussing possible discounts at scenic attractions for visitors, though details had not been finalized.
