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Part of an annual mass wedding ceremony linked to the Shanghai Tourism Festival will be held in St Petersburg this summer to mark Shanghai Week in Russia, organizers said Thursday.
The date for the actual tourism festival hasn't been set yet, according to the Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission.
Couples can register to take part in the "rose wedding" starting today at the Furama Tower in Luwan District, or the offices of Shanghai CYTS Tours. The first 15 to 20 couples who apply will be invited to tie the knot in Russia. The deadline for applications is June 6.
The lucky couples will head for St Petersburg on June 15, with the mass wedding held the next day in St Isaac Square, according to commission official Cao Zhonghua.
During the ceremony, the brides will all wear qipaos while the grooms will be dressed in clothes from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). Only one couple will perform the traditional Chinese wedding ceremony, including bowing to Heaven and Earth, and also to the seniors from both families.
"The wedding ceremony can show Chinese culture to Russian people," Cao said.
"And we believe it is significant to hold a Chinese-style wedding on a square surrounded by Western-style architecture," Cao added.
The couples are expected to stay in Russia for an entire week.
Other than the wedding, the couples will be free to spend their time travelling around St Petersburg and Moscow.
"Every couple may have to spend 20,000 yuan (US$2,500) for the event, and the fee will alternate slightly according to the air tickets and hotel prices at the time," said Cao.
Shanghai Week in St Petersburg is part of the Chinese Year in Russia.
Exhibitions reflecting local cultures, with the themes of books, movies, city features, will be displayed in St. Petersburg then.
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