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.

Capital of love

Lin'an's neighboring city Hangzhou is called the "Capital of Love" because many of its historical sites and scenic spots are included in love or marriage tales.

Broken Bridge and Leifeng Pagoda are in the household tale of the White Serpent. Long Bridge and Wansong Academy are part of China's story similar to Romeo and Juliet - the tale of butterfly lovers Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Other scenic sites in romantic tales include the Stone and Mucai Pavilion.

Hangzhou raised the curtain as another romantic story in 1991 when the China National Tourism Administration identified 14 national travel routes, among them Hangzhou's "Honeymoon Tour".

A variety of wedding celebrations have since been developed including a "Rose Wedding" organized by the Hangzhou Commission of Communist Youth League of China once a year that draws a great many newlyweds. Scenic parks are also sites for couples to commemorate golden or silver wedding anniversaries.

According to the Hangzhou Civil Affairs Bureau, 45,000 couples are married there in the city every year, 80 percent of which take wedding pictures. The marriage boom is also driving other businesses that provide wedding services, including image design, car hire and planning agencies.

Hangzhou Foguang Travel Agency says that it cooperates with photography studios to organize wedding groups comprised of new couples who are served by tour guides and photographers.

"We are outdoor travel enthusiasts. We cannot find a better place to celebrate our wedding. The wedding photo tour is perfectly tailored for us," said a newly married couple at the Hangzhou Flower Nursery.

"The emergence of wedding photo tours has been warmly embraced by young couples in pursuit of novel pictures with their own distinct features," said a photographer at Hangzhou Taiziwan Park. "But it poses more demands on professional photographers, who have to be able at both photography and tours."

Thousand Island Lake

Thousand Island Lake - Qian Dao Hu in Chinese - in Chun'an county, west of Hangzhou, is another popular photography spot. The 570-sq-km lake has more than1,000 islands and is famed for its surrounding green hills, plant and animal variety and its deep, clean water. Forest covers 95 percent of the region.

With the continuing rise of nuptial tours, Qian Dao Hu has become one of the most popular tourist attractions for young visitors.

Hong Weihua, general manager of photography studio Paris Wedding, said clients were before usually local residents, but the number of outside customers is increasing sharply.

"We have taken pictures for 190 couples so far this year, a 40 percent more than the same time last year," Hong said, adding that his major problem is staffing. "We are recruiting staff to serve our customers better."