![[Photo/Li Yongyi, Source: People’s Daily]](U347P886T1D4108F12DT20111124155455.jpg "[Photo/Li Yongyi, Source: People’s Daily]")
(Ecns.cn)--Lu Ping and his wife were born in 1950s and recently held a wedding ceremony for their son and his fiancée, a couple born in the 1980s, in their hometown of Taiyuan, provincial capital of Shanxi.
The two generations compromised to incorporate trendy ideas into the celebration while sticking with the customs that have survived for decades in Shanxi. This article will give you a close look at a wedding ceremony that demonstrates how customs are both preserved and changed in Taiyuan, a 2,500 year-old city with a wealth of cultural traditions.
A sea of Chinese red
Chinese like using the color red to decorate the venues of special celebrations, as it is linked to the worship of the sun-god in ancient times says an expert in wedding customs. Red apparently not only enhances an already delightful atmosphere, but also implies that sunshine will light the couple's way into the future.
On the wedding day, one of the most important moments in one's life, red is seen everywhere to spread the happy mood of guests, family, bride and groom. Even iron manhole covers along the road to the venue are coated with red paper. The specialist in charge of the wedding explained that as manholes are portals to the unclean they may bring bad luck, so are protected by the color red to drive away unfaithfulness.
And the well-known Chinese symbol "double happiness" is used only for nuptials. The Double Happiness characters are depicted in red paper cut-outs of different styles and sizes and affixed to the windows, doors, stairways, furniture and in each corner a guest's eyes may linger.
Percussion bands liven up the atmosphere
A percussion band of 28 members playing the traditional musical instruments of the drum and gong are invited to perform before the wedding banquet, usually accompanying or welcoming the bride. The fast-paced, robust tunes rev up the festive air, encourage all to make merry, and satisfy a tradition of praying to the god of heaven for happiness.
No turning back
The wedding vehicles are required to drive forwards all the way without turning back towards the departure point. It symbolizes that the newly-weds will accompany each other forever, not quit halfway through. Lu, the father of groom, says they explored the route in advance to make sure it would earn good omens.
