A young couple tied their knot in this golden autumn of October in Tacheng, a beautiful city in Xinjiang, northwest China. The bride, Kong Ning, is an ethnic Xibe woman and the groom, Ding Haochen, is a Manchu man.
The couple in traditional ethnic costume (left) and modern wedding dress (right).
The wedding started at the home of Kong Ning's parents and continued three days.
Kong's father is a Xibe man, but Kong's wedding followed the tradition of her mother's ethnic group -- Daur. According to the Daur customs, the wedding was held at the bride's home on the first day to show thanks to her families, relatives and friends. People sang and danced together until 2:00 a.m. the next day.
The bride, Kong Ning, dances Daur traditional dance -- Ahanbei.
Kong Ning teaches her groom Ding the Daur traditional dance.
On the second day, Kong Ning's parents held a luncheon at a local hotel. The luncheon was held in the banquet hall of Tacheng Hotel, which has a history of 164 years.
The bride's father and mother dance Xibe and Daur dances on the luncheon.
Kong Ning's wedding dress was made by her mother. It took half year for the woman to sew the wedding dress by hand. The peonies embroidered on the red dress symbolize wealth and auspice, which is also the mother's good wishes.
Kong Ning's aunts sew wedding quilts and prepare the wedding bed, according to Xibe customs.
Eating "Jiangbasi" was the final test for the groom that night. The bride's sister-in-law set various obstacles to prevent the groom from getting the tenderest meat, as it is said that whoever get it will be able to take charge of the whole family. Certainly, the result was sweet: the bride and the groom got the tenderest meat together.
Final and sweet test for the groom: get the tenderest "Jiangbasi".
On the third day, the groom's family came to the bride's home to escort her to the groom's home to continue the wedding. However, the trip was not that easy. The groom must eat sour, sweet, bitter and spicy dumplings to show his sincerity. Of course, all sorts of obstacles set by the bride's family did not stump the groom. It was not until Kong Ning's cousin send her into the wedding car on his back that the bride escorting ritual went to an end.
Ding Haochen eats dumplings.
Finally, the couple held a western style wedding ceremony at a modern banquet hall. Although Tacheng is an inland Chinese city adjoining Kazakhstan, the wedding ceremony there is no different to those in big coastal cities.
A modern wedding ceremony for the couple.
(Xinhua Photos by Zhao Ge)
