Expat enchanted by Chinese wedding culture in Ninghai

Seyedeh Sara Ahmadi Nishaboori (right) from Iran learns about the local wedding culture with her family at the Oriental Art Museum in Ninghai county, Ningbo on Nov 11. [Photo/Xu Mingyi]

"I have been invited to many modern wedding ceremonies in China, but I was truly amazed by the traditional wedding culture," said Seyedeh Sara Ahmadi Nishaboori from Iran after visiting the Oriental Art Museum in Ningbo on Nov 11.

As a Communication Officer for Ningbo, a title granted by the local government in April to encourage expats in Ningbo to tell stories about the city from their point of view, Nishaboori was invited to Ninghai county to experience the local culture.

In Ninghai, she and her family learned about the "Ten-mile Red Dowry" wedding custom by pretending to attend a traditional wedding ceremony in the museum, where her mother tried on a traditional Chinese wedding dress and sat on the bridal sedan chair.

Nishaboori shared her experiences in Ninghai on social media, saying she will promote Ningbo's art, life and culture to the world as well as to other expats living in China.

The "Ten-mile Red Dowry" wedding custom is so-named because on wedding days in the past, the bride would bring dowries such as clothes, shoes, furniture, and tableware to the groom's home. The dowries were put in red-lacquered boxes and carried by 38 bearers in a line which stretched for miles.

The wedding culture is listed as a national culture heritage.

Ninghai county has been working to develop a tourism industry revolving around the "Ten-mile Red Dowry" wedding culture by building a holiday resort and launching a travel route.