Getting married in China

It's actually very easy for the most part.  (Having recently done it myself).

The main thing the lao wai has to do is get a document of 'no impediment' or somesuch name.  You have to go to your embassy or consul for this.  This is usually easy, though it varies very slightly depending on your nationality. 

Usually you can pretty much walk in, sign something, swear an oath and walk out, though UK/English (not sure) nationals have to also wait about a month to get their certificate due to English law.

Once you have this, you take it, along with your passport, spouse to be and visa to the marriage office in the area where your spouse to is registered, fill in a few forms, sign a few things, have your photo taken together, and come  back later on in the day to pick up your red books.  Done.

You should also take some passport photos along.

The fee, if I remember correctly, is less than a thousand RMB.

My living in China blog: http://Chinarensblog.net

Thanks for your contribution Chinaren!

Harmonie.

Hello all.

I concur.
Firstly, I am an Australian married to a Chinese girl.
Before I arrived in China I applied for the document from Australia's (and my state NSW) Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. For me it was called a single status certificate. It pretty much says you have not been married before for a given period of time, usually from about the age of 16 onwards.
I then had to get that single status document validated/notarized by my Deptartment of Foreign Affairs so it would be recognised in China. That was the hardest part. This and your passport and under 1000 kuai will do the job easily.
Just be sure to arrive before the lunch break office closure, somewhere between 11:30am and reopens sometime after 2pm!!

All is told.
God speed.
The world is boundless, yet the heart controls all!

Hello. I am Danish and married to a wonderfull Chinese Woman.

I had to get a single certificate from my hometown and go to the Danish foreing ministry to get that document certified and then to the Chinese embassy in Copenhagen to get it certified there.
When we go to the registry office in Wuhan they send us to an office to get these papers translated into Chinese and then back to the registry and 30 minutes later we have our little red book.
It really depends on the City / province, because it is so different from one to another, so there is no "this is how it works" regards flemming

Thanks to both of you.