Eight newlywed couples participate in a Tang Dynasty-style (618-907) wedding ceremony organized by the Beijing Xicheng District Civil Affairs Bureau, which includes throwing an embroidered ball, on May 20, 2024. In recent years, more and more Chinese newlyweds are opting for traditional Chinese wedding ceremonies. Photo: VCG

China Civil Affairs University has announced it will enroll students for its new undergraduate marriage-related major in September, aiming to cultivate professionals with the skills to develop marriage-related industries and culture in China.

This is China's first undergraduate major related to marriage, titled Marriage Services and Management.

The major will focus on development of the marriage industry, aiming to highlight China's positive marriage and family culture to students and the public and advancing reform of China's marriage customs, according to CCTV News on Monday.

This university will enroll 70 undergraduates from 12 provinces this year in the course, focusing on cultivating high-level innovative talents that capable of providing comprehensive marriage services, said the report, citing Zhao Honggang, vice-president of the university.

The course aims to provide talents in marriage-related management sectors, including family counseling, high-end wedding planning and the development of matchmaking products.

"This major better meets the needs of society development, satisfying the public's desire for higher living quality," Zhang Jie, a researcher at the Institute of Communication Studies at the Communication University of China told the Global Times on Monday. "This commendable initiative will help build new marriage customs, foster a new culture and promote the healthy growth of the younger generation," Zhang added.

Zhao said that graduates will be able to pursue careers in industry associations, matchmaking agencies, wedding service companies and marriage and family counseling organizations.

It could provide consumers and society with more positive guidance on marriage if there are professionals with specialized training, Yan Wenjing, who is planning her wedding, told the Global Times on Monday.

"If younger people become wedding consultants, then they're more likely to dispense with negative traditional conventions, and weddings will become more innovative," Liu Jiangshan, a resident who recently completed her wedding ceremony in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday.

Zhang said that university majors should keep pace with the times and adjust so students can use what they learn. At the same time, advanced culture can be used to promote social development and make higher education truly the leader of new culture and new trends.

Global Times