Wedding bells ring up business in Hangzhou

The popularity of Chinese basketball star Yao Ming has reached far beyond the basketball court - even to where he took wedding photos with his wife Ye Li.

The hot spot is Qingshan Lake at Taihu Yuan scenic resort in the city of Lin'an, east of Zhejiang province's capital Hangzhou.

Outdoor photography there is now more popular than ever after the celebrity couple's patronage.

On last year's Chinese Valentine's Day, known as Qixi, hundreds of betrothed retraced the steps of the Yao to take wedding photos and take a romantic tour.

The night of Qixi was organized by Lin'an Qingshan Lake Tourism Corp and Jiali Photography Studio. The two companies have now joined hands to further develop the market for wedding photo tours, according to Wang Jian'gen, general manager of Qingshan Lake Tourism Corp.

Wang said that Qingshan Lake is the site of more recreation and leisure experiences that have "love" as their theme, including a wedding cruise now planned solely for photography.