China is calling for the end of increasingly lavish weddings, claiming they go against the country’s socialist values. The ministry of civil affairs has condemned the practice of holding extravagant ceremonies and giving expensive gifts.

Weddings, instead, should “integrate core socialist values and Chinese traditional culture into the construction of marriage and family,” the ministry said.

Officials further stressed at a conference on wedding reform over the weekend that it is “necessary” to incorporate “Xi Jinping Thought,” the Chinese president’s oft-heard political ideology, into wedding and marriage planning.

Local authorities will also now be asked to come up with more specific “wedding etiquette” rules.

In China, weddings are a way for people show off their wealth – in a culture where the concept of “saving face” is incredibly important, families from all socioeconomic classes prioritise keeping up appearances.

The more lavish the wedding, the more expensive the gifts must be from the guests.

Authorities have for years been trying to rein in extravagance at traditional ceremonies, first going after excessive funerals – some families go into severe debt to hold elaborate rites, even hiring strippers and professional mourners – and now, cracking down on opulent weddings.