>>2809267
these are called 打卡地 in Chinese and it means like "punch-card places". It is something that people (women and boomers) will go and take photos with to "prove" that they have been somewhere or post it on social media and show off.
the important part is:
>has to be identifiable as in that place
>you have to be in it, and the focus is on you, not the object (which is why it's usually some boring shit like a staircase or a sign)

then, this photo is quickly posted to your wechat friends circle or weibo to flaunt that you have gone travelling, and thus make people like and comment on your photo

the elaborate dresses and costumes are just a side effect of the thing being a boring column or random ass building so to make the photos more interesting they dress up

example: this is a sign representing the end of a highway. Behind it is two random hills. I was dragged here as part of a tour and everyone wanted their own individual picture with the sign (there were actually two, but everyone wanted a pic with the bigger one). People queued for easily 10 minutes for their picture.