We're getting married! 20 New Couples Gather in Fengjing Water Town to Celebrate Marriage
The ancient town of Jiangnan, with small bridges and flowing water, is filled with joy. Rows of red and colorful boats carrying newcomers wearing phoenix crowns and Xia Pei cross the water, attracting citizens and tourists to raise their phones and take pictures of the festive scene. Today, one of the major theme events of the 2023 Shanghai Tourism Festival, the "Wu Sui Yue Jiao" Fengjing Water Town Wedding Ceremony, resumed after two years of farewell. 20 couples from all over the country got married in the water town and made a solemn promise to spend their lives together.
At 10 o'clock in the morning, a festive and joyful atmosphere filled every alley and water system in Fengjing Ancient Town. Twenty newlyweds from all over the country, dressed in traditional wedding attire, strolled through the streets lined with ancient buildings of the Ming and Qing dynasties, becoming beautiful scenery on the streets and alleys. Shortly after, the new couple arrived at the yacht pier, and 10 red and colorful boats carried them into the city river from Nanzhen and Beizhen respectively. They arrived at the main stage through the magnificent 120 meter water wedding ceremony T-stage under the guidance of the matchmaker. On both sides of the riverbank, a large number of tourists and citizens stopped to watch, using their phones or cameras to record exciting moments.
![We're getting married! 20 New Couples Gather in Fengjing Water Town to Celebrate Marriage](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/599bfe151ebc2b216d0ed1a089ce54ef.jpg)
A joyous boat carrying new people traverses the river. Photo by Zhuang Yi
On the main stage, the bride is adorned with a phoenix crown and a red robe, while the groom is the top scorer. They step onto the stage hand in hand, bow three times to each other, drink lotus heart soup, and hand in a cup of wine, creating a century long tradition. These traditional wedding customs have a common cultural memory in the Yangtze River Delta region such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Anhui. On the standard "Number One Table in the World" at the Water Town Wedding Ceremony, Fengjing's traditional dishes are presented one by one, with each dish symbolizing good wishes for the newlyweds.
![We're getting married! 20 New Couples Gather in Fengjing Water Town to Celebrate Marriage](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/7d0e0a04d24f528c0aa4a9b6ce23d952.jpg)
Unlike previous water town weddings, in order to enhance the experience and viewing value of tourists, the main stage of this water town wedding is set in Guzhen City River, adjacent to the Fengjing Ancient Theater and backed by the Taiping Bridge. The water plank road is 120 meters long and fences are set up simultaneously. The main stage, in terms of design, scale, and difficulty, has set an all-time record. "Swimming along the water symbolizes the natural flow of love, and relying on water to form a ritual symbolizes a long-lasting marriage. This makes the architecture of Fengjing Ancient Town a natural background for the water town wedding ceremony and adds a touch of historical significance to the entire ceremony." said Zhu Yeming, Deputy Mayor of Fengjing.
New people are parading in Fengjing Ancient Town. Photo by Zhuang Yi
![We're getting married! 20 New Couples Gather in Fengjing Water Town to Celebrate Marriage](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/d090e88b8dbd8657d6c2caa10f50ce8d.jpg)
Since the first "Wu Sui Yue Jiao" Fengjing Water Village Wedding Ceremony in 2005, it has been successfully held for 16 sessions, becoming a business card for Shanghai and even the whole country to showcase the inheritance of traditional culture. This year's 20 new couples come from nearly 20 provinces and cities across China, including Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Liaoning, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu. With the help of water town weddings, more and more couples are coming to Shanghai and entering the Jiangnan water town, leaving behind beautiful memories of life. At the same time, they are also further understanding the urban beauty of Shanghai and experiencing the natural and fresh scenery of the suburbs.
It is reported that during the National Day Golden Week, utilizing the existing T-shaped stage of the water town wedding ceremony, a water town concert featuring "local sounds, local charm, and local sentiment" will also be presented in Fengjing Ancient Town, further expanding the influence of Fengjing's comprehensive tourism and ecological tourism.
![We're getting married! 20 New Couples Gather in Fengjing Water Town to Celebrate Marriage](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/987c9d39d6ea8efaeb3e45d47404111c.jpg)
New people experience traditional wedding customs. Photo by Zhuang Yi
At present, Fengjing Town is taking the creation of a national 5A level tourist attraction as an opportunity to integrate culture and tourism in all aspects, striving to build Fengjing Tourism Area into a first-class Jiangnan cultural and leisure vacation destination in the growth triangle. On the one hand, Fengjing is committed to transforming the Cai Yitai Centennial Reading Building into a composite cultural consumption space that combines "cultural socialization+light dining", actively preparing for the Duoyun Academy and the Lu Zhi Art Museum; On the other hand, by continuously continuing characteristic brands and injecting highlight activities, we aim to cultivate a new cultural and tourism industry format that is "youthful and new in gameplay", and promote the continuous upgrading of the cultural and tourism industry.