The annual "Rose Wedding Festival" is becoming ever more popular in Shanghai, especially among romantic and trendy young people who are now busy preparing their wedding parties.

Although the number is strictly limited and the fee is rather high, new spouses are still scrambling for the "precious" opportunity to step into the limelight.

With fragrant roses, beautiful costumes and doves, the brides and bridegrooms will have to stand in luxurious limousines which then drive along the main commercial street, Huaihai Lu, in procession. During their journey, they will enjoy every passers-by's blessing and cheers. Hopefully, for the new spouses, the atmosphere and the scene will be extraordinarily romantic and unforgettable.

But this fashionable ceremony is actually not a new invention at all. It can be traced back as far as 1934 when a so-called "New life Campaign" was spreading like wildfire in Shanghai.

Aimed at overthrowing old customs and creating a new lifestyle, the campaign was first waged against traditional weddings, which were notorious for their feudal ritual and extravagance. The local government soon bore the brunt and drew up a plan for a simple and economic collective wedding ceremony, to begin the following year.

According to Shanghai government records, the ceremony was to be held every month with, Shanghai's Mayor and the head of the local society bureau as the chief witnesses at the ceremony, while the spouses who wanted to take part in the ceremony would have to be permanent Shanghai residents and pay a moderate fee for the service.

What's more, there were also some detailed clauses concerning requirements of costume style and colour.

The notice drew widespread attention as soon as it was published and those who applied for the service ranged from bankers to teachers and academics.

Since it was the first time Shanghai had held such a grand ceremony, the municipal government laid great emphasis on it, and even called for a rehearsal the day before the celebration.

The formal celebration was held on April 3, 1935.

Starting at 3:00pm that day, 57 couples led by two officials from the social bureau stepped up to the podium two by two. They were first asked to bow to the statue of Dr. Sun Yat-shan, then to the chief witnesses, and finally to each other. After that, they were given a plaque as a souvenir. The whole ritual was solemn and authoritative, while the celebration afterwards was full of laughter and tears.

Such ceremonies were held twice a month from then on, enjoying considerable popularity. Later it even spread to other nearby cities.

As the major highlight of the Shanghai Tourism Festival, the "Rose Wedding Festival" is simply a continuation of the collective wedding ceremony - but with more fashionable elements.

(Shanghai Star September 28, 2003)