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Michael attends a wedding in Shanghai - Source: ONE News -
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Now this was a Shanghai surprise.
Wandering through the backstreets in search of those famous Shanghai noodles, I found myself tangled up in a Chinese wedding.
It was Sunday and this particular restaurant was typically full as it was the one day when this heaving metropolis comes to a halt.
The wedding party numbered about 50 and they were more than happy for the token foreigner to join in. There were two couples getting married at the same time, and as the guests told me excitingly, the brides were twins.
This is apparently very lucky.
The girls were 23-years-old. One introduced herself to me as "Rose - my English name".
Could the other one have chosen 'Lily' - or 'Tulip'? Now that would be too much!
Alas, she was called Diana and worked as a 'document controller' for a local bank.
The proud grooms could have passed for brothers as well - judge for yourself in the photo - but I was unable to confirm this.
October has been a particularly popular month for weddings here, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the Chinese communist nation.
Unlike a lot of western countries, in China the cost of all the festivities is borne by the groom's family.
Another major difference is that traditionally the bride would wear three dresses throughout the wedding day but I was afraid to ask Rose which was currently on and what had been taken off for fear of a spectacular misunderstanding.
Another tradition which I particularly liked was the idea of getting married on the half hour, rather than the top of the hour. This is meant to signify that the couple began their marriage on an upward swing, as the hands of the clock are moving up rather than down.
That explains the lack of digital clocks around here.
The bridal party left all too soon, off to have photos taken in People's Square, one of Shanghai 's most popular scenic spots.
tvnz.co.nz's Michael Burgess is in China courtesy of the Asia New Zealand foundation and travelled there with Air New Zealand. He is aiming to investigate the impact and legacy of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and will be writing about the sights and sounds of China along the way.
