Media in China on Wednesday hailed what was believed to be the first public instance of a same-sex wedding in the world’s most populous country.

Zeng Anquan, 45, and Pan Wenjie, 27, married in a ceremony attended by 200 friends in the southwestern city of Chengdu on January 3, according to Agence France-Presse. 

Laws in China, where homosexuality was officially considered a mental illness until recently, do not recognize same-sex marriages.

According to AFP, the English-language China Daily featured a front-page photograph and story about the men, in coverage that marks significant progress.