A Marriage Made in Hutong

by Feng Yuan
photos by Wang Huiming

To the deafening accompaniment of gongs and drums, followed by huge crowds of people, a red sedan chair zigzags its way through a narrow hutong. The sights and sounds of a Chinese traditional wedding ceremony, but with one unique difference -- the bride and groom in qipao, long gown and mandarin jacket are blue-eyed, golden-haired lao wai.

The ceremony was held in a quadrangle compound and the whole procedure followed Chinese tradition: from the ceremonial obeisance to the drinking of the nuptial cup.

Steve and Linda Hainse are from England, where they work as a government clerk and a primary school teacher in London. From their friends, they had come to know the culture of China and became very interested in the Chinese traditional wedding ceremony. Therefore, after having finished the formalities of the ceremony in a London registry office, instead of going to the Caribbean for a honeymoon like many other English people, they flew to China. They wanted something different -- a different ceremony, different music, different clothes. It was a new beginning for their life, so they wanted an occasion they would remember for ever.

The whole ceremony lasted almost an hour and a half. Although the sun was burning, every one was in high spirits. The happy husband told anyone who would listen that the ceremony was more complicated than they imagined, and he never thought he would wear such strange clothes as the long gown, mandarin jacket and skullcap. He was also surprised to see so many people attracted by their ceremony. Throughout, he and his bride were surrounded by dozens of photographers and journalists. "It is like a public speech," said Linda.

She particularly enjoyed the feeling on the sedan chair: "Very exciting and better than in the taxi on London streets." Both waxed eloquent about their experience in Beijing. They were impressed by this "old, huge, strange and interesting" city and its friendly people. After spending five days in Beijing, they planned to visit Xi'an, Nanjing and Shanghai.

The ceremony was organized by the Beijing Hutong Tourist Agency. According to Xu Yong, the manager of the agency, this was the first time such an event had been held in Beijing's hutongs. He said it had helped enhance the exchange of different cultures, and hoped it would be possible to attract more foreign friends to take part in similar events in the future.