Photo taken on August 22, 2023 shows new couples posing for photos at the marriage registration office located in Kunqu Opera Theater in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. (Photo credit: the Yangtse Evening Post)
The marriage registration office situated at the Couple's Garden Retreat, a classic garden imbued with love-themed ambiance in Suzhou City, has emerged as a favored place for new couples to formalize their union, especially during the Qixi Festival, or the Chinese Valentine's Day.
As a UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage site and a key cultural and historical relic site under state-level protection, the Couple's Garden Retreat is known for a beautiful environment with two gardens on its east wing and west wing, watercourses on three sides, embellished windows, and symmetrically designed buildings. These elements provide an exquisite backdrop for taking wedding photos.
What makes the charming garden also unique is the marriage registration office inaugurated during the Qixi Festival last year, the first of its kind in China.
Lin Zifan and his fiancee initially targeted Qixi, the 7th day of the 7th month according to the Chinese lunar calendar, August 22, for their marriage registration. But Lin found it hard to make an appointment at the office so they had to change the date to August 21.
Statistics indicate that the office issued marriage registration certificates for 2,330 couples from its inception last year to August 20. There are only three time slots available on August 30 for marriage registration in the period spanning from August 23 to September 20.
"This distinct office not only caters to those seeking romantic and personalized services, but also makes the big moment particularly meaningful," said Li Haike, director of the garden's management office.
During this year's Qixi Festival, Suzhou unveiled five marriage registration offices at locations rich with cultural legacies. Some venues extended their services to provide customized and cultural creations, adding ceremonial significance to the registration process.
For example, Kunshan's Tinglin Park, a national AAAA tourism site, opened a novel 50-square-meter office adorned in antique décor. The space boasts expansive windows decorated with the red charters meaning double happiness. Some brides also opted to don traditional cheongsam for the registration.
Xu Aihua, official from the Gusu District Civil Affairs and Health Bureau, said the popularity of these distinctive marriage registration sites stems from the growing allure of traditional culture among the young people.
"The splendid, solemn, and harmonious traditional wedding customs, an iconic part of Jiangnan culture, enables newlyweds to acquire insights and firsthand experience concerning family, love, integrity, responsibility and other aspects of matrimony," said Yu Jia, guest professor at Soochow University's Institute of Chinese Modern Literature and Philosophy.
