Water town group wedding adds up to 'love you forever'
A group wedding for 11 new couples in Xinchang.
A group wedding was held at Shanghai's centuries-old Xinchang water town on Saturday as part of a promotion event for the local "romance industry."
About 36 kilometers from the city center, the ancient town has emerged as a new romantic rendezvous, in addition to the waterfront Bund areas and cobbled alleyways in downtown historical compounds.
The postal code for Xinchang is 201314, which translates as "love you forever" in Chinese. And the vibrant mix of interlacing alleys, carved stone-arch bridges and building clusters from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1911) crates ideal settings for dating, weddings and photos.
Guests receive sweets.
On Saturday afternoon, 11 new couples had a group wedding ceremony at One Step Garden, a Instagrammable café that has been renovated from a historical building.
They received special gifts embedded with Xinchang elements, such as tubu (homespun cloth).
After the ceremony, Xinchang released a list of "best photo-taking sites for newly-weds," including the One Step Garden, the century-old No.1 Teahouse and the popular "Earth Showroom" paddy field.
The group wedding at the popular One Step Garden cafe.
