China's wedding season sees sold- out venues, upticks in gold, home appliance sales

China's wedding season is in full swing which means sold- out bookings for venues, and an increase in sales for traditional wedding gifts.

October is always a popular wedding month in China as many couples use the National Day holiday season to hold their events.

But this year, industry experts say, even more couples are trying to tie the knot this month as many ceremonies were postponed earlier in the year due to COVID- 19.

According to one restaurant manager, venues have been filled up fast during the holiday with some bookings made months ago.

"We got a lot of bookings during the National Day Holiday. Oct. 2, 4, 6 and 5 are especially sought after. Venues for these days were all booked about three months ago," said Liu Longxu, banquet manager of Dongfu Restaurant in Zhengzhou City, capital of central China's Henan Province.

The marriage season is also propping up the gold sector.

In China, gold rings, gold necklaces and gold bracelets are still the first choice when it comes to wedding accessories.

Jewelry retail stores say sales of gold wedding accessories have already reached millions of yuan amid the holiday season.

"Chinese couples often buy gold rings, gold necklaces and gold bracelets, and sometimes even gold earrings and gold pendants for their engagements or weddings. A set of gold wedding accessories costs about 20, 000 yuan ( about 3,000 U. S. dollars). We expect sales between Oct. 1st and 8 to reach about two million yuan," said Hu Shuangwa, store manager at Zhongyuan Wanda Branch of Chinese jewelry retailer Lao Feng Xiang.

In addition to gold wedding accessories, home appliances are also popular among new couples.

Some domestic appliance sellers report soaring sales growth.

"Data from our stores across the country show sales of home appliances targeting the wedding market have grown about 130 percent," said Zhang Lijun, senior employee at Chinese home appliance giant Suning. com.