Port Louis - XINHUA
Thirty Chinese couples held their wedding ceremony on the Mauritius Island during cerebrations to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese festival, on Monday.
The ceremony was conducted in the southeast region of Mauritius under the auspices of "Amazing Love Mauritius Wedding Trip" jointly prepared by the Mauritius Tourism Office, Access China Services and other tourism sector partners.
The newly weds were presented to a crowd of invited guests, including Mauritius' Tourism Minister Michael Sik Yuen and the Chinese ambassador to Mauritius Li Li as well as Miss International China 2014, Wei Lisi.
"We are very happy. It was our dream to hold our wedding here," said Shi Wi, a 35 year old computer engineer, in the company of his wife who is a 28 year old nurse.
Ambassador Li said mass wedding demonstrated the good cooperation in the tourism sector between China and Mauritius.
The Mauritius tourism minister reiterated his desire to attract over 70,000 Chinese tourists this year.
In 2013, over 41,900 Chinese tourists visited Mauritius against 20,885 in 2012.
"We want to ensure that Mauritius remains the most romantic destination for Chinese tourists who want to come and get married or have a honeymoon," Yuen said, adding that "the extraordinary wedding of 30 couples on the Mauritius soil will largely contribute to the promotion of the country as an ideal destination. "