Last week's wedding

It doesn't seem like it now, but one week ago we traveled to the Sichuan countryside on a say that one person described as "the most beautiful day in the history of Chengdu." It was warm, sunny, and unusually clear - lacking all the dust and haze that I was complaining about in my previous post. In other words, it was the perfect day to get out to the country for a wedding.

The celebration started at school, where our principal conducted the ceremony. Here, weddings are made legal by signing papers at a government office. This is usually done days, weeks, or years before the "ceremony" - which is elaborate by design. For Chinese people with foreign connections, it is popular to have a foreigner conduct the ceremony - good for appearances, I suppose? So that is why our principal was up there - and he impressed by conducting the vows in Chinese. The most memorable moment, however, was a bout of upbeat Chinese karaoke-style singing that contrasted greatly with the traditional music usually played at Western weddings.

Following that, we bused out to the groom's family's house. They are farmers, and live in a small village of a few dozen houses. The area was surrounded by green fields. It was the closest glimpse we have had of rural China, since most of our travels are limited to cities.



Our group was greeted at the gate by the groom's family. First, they welcomed the bride and groom with firecrackers. Then they killed a chicken and splattered its blood over the entrance to their home (seen below). Once that tradition was completed, the couple entered the home. They then sat with the groom's parents and participated in a tea ceremony. Though a small part of the day, these actions were an exciting glimpse into Chinese culture.


Of course, the most important part of a wedding in China is the food. This is the time to celebrate - and the Chinese love to celebrate through food. There were already a half dozen dishes on the table (including pickled vegetables, pig's tail, nuts, chicken feet, and shrimp), plus drinks. The bride and groom circulated from table to table, greeting guests and offering toasts. As this was going on, the food kept coming. Plates of steamed fish, mushroom soup, pork fat, crab, turtle, sticky rice and others began to pile up. Old plates were not taken away, they were simply buried as new dishes were piled on top. It was an impossible amount of food - I counted 18 courses in all. We could never eat this much (and would not want to - most were not "Western-friendly"). But it would be a cultural no-no to leave your guests wanting more, so it is standard for banquets to serve WAY more food than the guests could ever eat.



I will say - the turtle was pretty decent.

-alan