200 strangers pack wedding banquet of shunned Chinese man, bringing roast pigs, private chefs

A groom in southwestern China who feared an empty wedding reception found himself surrounded by hundreds of supportive strangers after his online appeal went viral. Twenty-four-year-old Xu, from Zhaotong in Yunnan province, recently posted a video on Douyin inviting internet users to his wedding banquet on October 31.

In the clip, Xu explained that he had grown up facing stigma and bullying in his rural community for being an “orphan,” a label associated with low social status. He hoped a few...