[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/saipan-sees-boom-same-sex-marriages-chinese-tourists\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/saipan-sees-boom-same-sex-marriages-chinese-tourists\/","headline":"Saipan sees boom in same-sex marriages of Chinese tourists","name":"Saipan sees boom in same-sex marriages of Chinese tourists","description":"With same-sex marriage being illegal in China, same-sex marriages of Chinese tourists are on the rise in nearby Saipan, a commonwealth of the United States. ","datePublished":"2017-04-30","dateModified":"2017-04-30","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/emilyrochotte\/#Person","name":"Emily Rochotte","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/emilyrochotte\/","identifier":5619,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f3a3d93cba6196f7aeb50eff060379dae87a7bab7b12983b5dbf60b5cc535f4?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f3a3d93cba6196f7aeb50eff060379dae87a7bab7b12983b5dbf60b5cc535f4?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Saipan-sees-increase-in-same-sex-marriages-from-Chinese-tourists.png","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Saipan-sees-increase-in-same-sex-marriages-from-Chinese-tourists.png","height":1290,"width":1733},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/saipan-sees-boom-same-sex-marriages-chinese-tourists\/","about":["Marriage Equality News","News"],"wordCount":296,"keywords":[" legal wedding"," marriage equality","China","legal","legal marriage","Saipan"],"articleBody":"With same-sex marriage still being illegal in China, the Chinese LGBTQ population looks elsewhere when finding a place to tie the knot. Over the last couple of years, Saipan has seen more and more tourists coming to exchange vows.\u00a0Saipan is the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, a United States commonwealth located in the Pacific Ocean.When the United States legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, the ruling applied to the U.S. commonwealths as well.\u00a0With Saipan’s proximity to China, it has become a growing choice for destination weddings of LGBTQ Chinese couples.\u00a0“The upward trend of same-sex marriages started out with the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office officiating 12 same-sex marriages in 2015,” according to the\u00a0Saipan Tribune. “Half of the same-sex marriage certificates issued that year were Chinese tourists.\u00a0In 2016, there was a significant jump in same-sex marriages as 30 marriage licenses where issued, 25 of which were issued to same-sex Chinese couples.”While these marriages are not considered legal in China, couples are still looking foThe Saipan Tribune spoke with Jial Lyu, a Chinese tourist who married his husband in Saipan.\u00a0“Lyu told Saipan Tribune that he and his husband have been together for five years, but because same sex-marriage is not legalized in China, they had to find another way to tie the knot.\u00a0According to Lyu, he and his husband stumbled across a video on the internet of two Chinese women who ventured to Saipan and tied the knot. This is what inspired the Lyus to pack up for a trip to Saipan and solemnize their union.”Couples can receive a marriage license in Saipan for 50 USD. As long as same-sex marriage is legal in the United States, the mayor of Saipan will continue to perform marriages for couples from all over the world.\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Saipan sees boom in same-sex marriages of Chinese tourists","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/saipan-sees-boom-same-sex-marriages-chinese-tourists\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]