Wedding photography is a thriving business in China, where couples often go to parks, temples and historical sites to pose for photos to capture memories of their seemingly unbreakable relationship.
But in a country where there are millions of divorces each year, many wedding photos end up in the attic or trash.
Yang Weiguang puts a large wedding photo into a grinder in a warehouse in Langfang, Hebei province, on March 27.
`We realized that destruction of personal belongings is an industry with potential for development in China but no one is doing it,` the 42-year-old man said in the factory 120 km from Beijing.
Despite the taboo against destroying photos of living people, Liu’s facility receives 5-10 orders every day across China.
Workers load photos onto forklifts and spread them on the warehouse floor for classification.
`People who send wedding photos here to be destroyed are trying to find a way to close a relationship and resolve the knot in their hearts,` Liu said.
The photos sent show the happy moments of the lovebirds before their marriage broke up.
Liu used his phone to record a photo of his face being spray-painted and sent the clip to the customer for final confirmation.
Liu said the motives for destroying wedding photos are complex.
Some customers come to participate in the destruction ceremony to feel that a chapter of their lives has closed.
Liu Wei loaded the wedding photos onto a forklift to be destroyed.
Sending a confirmation video is Liu’s way of giving customers one last chance to keep the item in case they regret their decision.
Divorce rates skyrocketed in China after marriage and family laws were relaxed in 2003. The rate dropped significantly from 2021, when the government implemented a law that stipulates the mediation period before divorce is
The number of marriage registrations last year increased for the first time in nearly 10 years, leading officials to hope for a reversal in the downward trend in the birth rate.
After destroying thousands of wedding photos, Liu said he was no longer as emotional about broken marriages as he was in the early days.
