Wedding, 40 hour train, Shanghai

A wedding, a cross-country train trip and one of the largest cities in the world--oh my!

After our dancing and revelry in the yurt, the true preparations began. We had two days until the wedding and lots to learn about a traditional Chinese ceremony. We'll share some pointers with you:

General guidelines: Similar to weddings in the US, these are big events with intricate etiquette and customs.

• Colors: The bride and groom wear red, guests avoid red. Similar to the color white in western weddings. Black and white are reserved for funerals, so also a color to be avoided. 

• Gifts: Our family, mainly PJ and Wendy:) has learned the hard way about the gift etiquette. Clocks are the biggest "no no," they signify that you will have something to do with the recipient's death. Sharp objects, like knives, signify severing a friendship. And generally things in groups of four are thought to be bad luck. The word four in Mandarin, (四 Sì) sounds like  the word for dead, (死 Sǐ) so it's avoided to use this. In fact, many buildings skip the 4th floor in elevators, similar to how some skip 13 in the US.

Pre-Wedding:

Decorating the home--We decorated the home with beautiful pink ribbon, balloons and lots of red "double happiness" symbols.

Groomsmen and Groom all "break-into" the bride's house-- The day of the wedding the groomsman join the groom to pick up the bride. This is symbolic of the bride leaving her family and joining the groom's family. There are many events and feats the groom must accomplish in order to win the approval of the bride's family. 

We had to get through four doors, with drinking challenges and "red envelope" bribes necessary at each of them. At the stairs, we had drinks at each step to get all the way up to Annie's room.

The final test was the bridesmaids challenge. We had to bribe the group of bridesmaids with red envelopes of money, then we had to complete two challenges. One was to make a human pyramid--success! Then, we had to all sing a song. It was all a whirlwind, but I think we belted out the instant classic from the Backstreet Boys. I haven't seen the video, and I'm not sure I want to?

Once all tests are complete, the family accepts the groom and the bride is allowed to leave, there was a short ceremony of gift exchange and welcome into the family. Patrick then carried Annie down three flights of stairs and out into a carriage, which began the parade around the neighborhood. Her feet were not allowed to touch the ground from her bedroom to the carriage.

Parade around the bride's neighborhood

The next step is a presentation to the neighborhood of the soon-to-be newlyweds. Horns play, signs are held, and Patrick yells "I'm marrying a beautiful woman." Annie's younger cousins throw candy and small red envelopes to bystanders and neighbors.

At wedding:

The traditional ceremony with Patrick leading Annie across a series of tests and symbolic hurdles. Some of these hurdles were: a horse saddle for peace, and fire to burn away bad luck and bring a bright future for the newlyweds.

Similar to western weddings, one does not leave hungry. This was no exception, to the extreme. There was an enormous table full of food, many delicacies and delicious dishes to pass. Plus Georgian wine and baijou. 

There was also great live music and Kazakh dancers similar to our time in the yurts.

As a side note to the once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience that Lindsey and I got to be a part of, I also was able to sit in a Bentley--It was amazing. Not traditional Chinese wedding ceremony amazing, but noteworthy nonetheless. :)

Post-wedding:

Wedding party goes table to table greeting every guest

Toasting the table for good fortune. Traditionally, the wedding party (bridesmaids and groomsmen) toast each guest with a shot of baijou. Luckily, we toasted each table instead, which saved our livers a bit of a workout. 

After the wedding, the cousins, wedding party, friends and the newlyweds gathered in the basement at Annie's house to unwind and relax.

And relax we did, as we departed the next day for our cross-country train ride. 

We were so fortunate to be a part of Patrick and Annie's ceremony--the traditional ceremony is one that not many Chinese get to experience. It was a day we will never forget.


Next adventure: from Urumqi to Shanghai :)

Train across the country: 

*Ryan gets stopped at the security check mark and his entire bag gets looked through* Ryan, are you carrying a knife, lighter, exotic animal, or fireworks?  Oh, it's just your shaving razor... You almost made us miss our train! 

As a way to see more of China, and a way to see more in our bank accounts, we took a 40 hour 2 night sleeper train from Urumqi to Shanghai. (Going from Urumqi to Shanghai is like going from Vancouver to Florida.) We planned for the worst, and hoped for the best. We "splurged" and attempted to order the soft sleeper beds which are more roomy and have four occupants. However, those were sold out, so hard sleepers it was: with a firmer mattress, six person occupancy and no door. 

Much to our surprise, when we entered the train and found our bunks they were more comfortable than we thought. The "Z" express trains were new, clean, and had perfect A/C. We had room for our bags, we received a top and bottom bunk, and it appeared we had quiet bunk mates. With a few small catches; as soon as we unrolled our sheets and got situated Ryan's bunkmate took his bedsheet and sealed the A/C vent closed, the woman next to Lindsey chose "in-shell" sunflower seeds, very crisp cucumbers, and slurpy soup as her snacks of choice, and our neighbor next door smoked like a chimney! (Yes, smoking is allowed on trains between cabins and almost everywhere else in China.)  All of those things were annoyances, but it could have been worse and we knew what we potentially signed up for, so we were prepared; eye masks, ear plugs, sleeping medicine, and unfortunately we forgot the wine we wanted to bring!  

We spent two nights and two days taking in the sights of the entire country of China. From mountains to valleys, to streams, from small towns to cities of millions of people. We saw much of the country side and all of the terrace gardens where farmers have grown food up the side of a mountain for centuries. When we needed a break from window watching we would each go to our bunks and read, listen to podcasts, music, play cards, and eat food that we brought with us. Lights-out was relatively early, around 10 pm, and the whole train was silent (thankfully no snorers near us!) and all that could be heard was the hum of the train, sometimes a grind on the tracks, and a faint speaker when the train would stop in a city. Interesting fact! The type of train we were on only would stop in cities larger than four million people, and we stopped about 15-20 times, crazy! 

Overall, we had an enjoyable experience, saw a lot, saved more money, and arrived to our destination of Shanghai right on schedule. The Chinese trains, were all remarkably on-time. What more could we have asked for? Besides for the man to take his sheets out of the air vent so we could have some cool air... Nothing. 

Shanghai; Bao, Boats, Buddies, and Beers

We made it! Off the train and our last stop in China, Shanghai. It has topped the charts for being one of the largest cities in the world, but despite the stat of being one of the most populated, it did not feel crowded. 


The subway was the best we've ever ridden, the skyscrapers were jaw-dropping and the food was great!

The first night in Shanghai, Annie's mom generously hosted us for a dinner in the Pearl Tower on the Bund River. The restaurant in the tower was a rotating 360 degree view dining room, with sweeping views of the skyline.


Luckily we had the VIP experience, skipping a 3 hour line to get up in the elevators to the second pearl of the three globes. 

Our first day we used some hotel points to splurge on a nice hotel, which was an appreciated luxury after two days on a train bunk. We had a free evening wine reception and an American style breakfast the next day. 

The next couple days we took an evening boat ride on the Bund River, and we toured the historic Yu Yuan Gardens. Eating great food, bao, and window shopping on the winding streets in the gardens. 

As our time in China came to an end, it was sad to see all our family and relatives head back to the States. Lindsey and I could not have had better hosts or had a more enjoyable time than we did. With bittersweet excitement we left the country that began our one year adventure, and we had nervous excitement for the next phase of our journey. Italy!