Wedding about love not money, says China's Yang

Olympic gymnastics champion Yang Wei has struck back at criticism of his recent lavish wedding on China's island resort of Hainan, calling the ceremony a romantic tribute to his partner of many years and not a commercial affair.

Yang, who won two golds and a silver at the Beijing Games in August, wed long-time girlfriend and Sydney 2000 Games bronze medallist gymnast Yang Yun last week in a ceremony attended by celebrities and government officials.

The wedding drew fire from Chinese internet users after local media reported companies ranging from fashion designers to travel agencies sponsored the entire affair.

Pictures of the couple, splashed in newspapers and glossy magazines, showed the bride wearing a golden wedding dress, which reports said was valued at 30 million yuan ($4.39 million) and had been loaned from a Japanese designer.

"Without Yang Yun's encouragement, I may not have been able to cope during 2008, much less achieve my Olympic dream," the 28-year-old said on his blog.

"Having borne this huge pressure with her, I pledged to hold a romantic wedding for her. As a man, I felt it my responsibility."

Yang said he was grateful that "friends and companies" had helped him organise the wedding given time constraints.

He was reported to have been staying in a 30,000 yuan-per-night suite in Hainan.

"Actually this was their way of expressing their love for us," Yang said.

The high-profile couple's wedding comes after a string of celebrity marriages involving Chinese Olympic champions who held off exchanging vows to concentrate on the Games.

Table tennis champion Wang Nan, fencing gold medallist Zhong Man, and double Olympic taekwondo Chen Zhong all recently tied the knot