Are they too young to marry?

Pictures of a young teenage couple on their wedding day have caused controversy in China with many people debating whether or not they are too young to marry.

The bride, surnamed Wu, and the groom, surnamed Zhang, are allegedly both 16 years old. They married on February 15 in Nanning, Guangxi Province, reports the People's Daily Online.

Although they had all the traditional wedding celebrations, the baby-faced duo have to wait before they get their formal certificate as the marriageable age in China is 22 for men and 20 for women.

Pictures said to be taken from the wedding show the teenage bride wearing a luxurious wedding gown. The wedding banquet was said to contain dozens of large dining tables.

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When the pictures of the married couple were first posted online on February 18, many people believed the groom was only 13 years old.

Rumours also began to surface that the bride was pregnant.

When they eventually spoke to the local media, the couple were quick to deny these rumours.

The bride said that she is not pregnant and her young husband is in fact the same age as her, he just looks a lot younger.

'The story that my husband is 13 years old is complete nonsense,' she told reporters. 'We were both born in 1999 and are 16 years old, he just has a baby face.'

All of their relatives have reportedly expressed their blessing towards the married couple.

'Our parents support us, without them we could never have managed to hold a wedding feast with dozens of tables,' said the young bride.

The two met more than a year ago, the groom who is unable to read finished school and started working full time two years ago.

'We have known each other for more than a year, we would get married sooner or later, so we just decided to go ahead and hold a wedding banquet,' said the bride.

Online users have said even though they are both dressed for their wedding in the pictures, they both look extremely young to be getting married.

'Yu Jiao Elin' disapproved of the marriage: 'According to this rate, he will have his great-grandchildren. If all of us do this, the Chinese population might reach 10 billion in 50 years.'

One person called 'Harryson' praised the young man's actions: 'China will have 30 million men who won't be able to marry in 2020. This little brother made a very strategic move!'

'Have they heard of marriage laws?' said a user named 'Ddkcay101'.

Not everyone on the Internet commented to poke fun at the young couple, one user who is reported to be a friend wrote:

'Don't listen to what others say, you are both happy and that is all that matters.'

'Dong zhou dong xie' agreed: Since teenage dating is tolerated, why are people opposed to this? At least, they are serious about their relationship.'

As of writing the wedding pictures of the couple have 49,000 comments on Sina.com.

Many have expressed their utter shock at the young age and youthful appearance of the newlyweds.

According to the report, although the groom has been mocked for his youthful appearance online, they are local celebrities in their hometown.

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