CHINA: MILLENNIUM: MASS WEDDINGS
571 بار بازدید -
5 سال پیش
-
(31 Dec 1999) STORY Mandarin/Cantonese/Nat
(31 Dec 1999) STORY
Mandarin/Cantonese/Nat
Two thousand couples gathered in Beijing on Friday, the last day of the second millennium, to get married in one huge ceremony.
Sponsored by China's All Women's Federation, the mass wedding was the first in many millennium events scheduled across China for the last day of the century.
And in Shanghai there is an elderly lady who has very nearly seen three centuries - by the Chinese calendar she is a hundred and one years old.
Love, millennium wishes and nationalism all came together this morning in Beijing's Olympic Stadium.
Groups of couples gathered on a podium to receive marriage certificates in the centre of the large stadium.
One group consisted entirely of soldiers and their new wives.
And if some couples waited a long time to finally get married, most felt honoured to participate in this mass ceremony.
SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)
"Following the Motherland crossing into the new millennium, getting married on this kind of a day is a very rare experience."
SUPER CAPTION: Vox-pop, 24 year-old newly wed from Heilongjiang Province
Outside the main hall couples huddled together putting on the final touches of make-up and adjusting their clothes.
Bringing in the year of the dragon, this wedding was considered especially auspicious by young lovers.
According to Chinese tradition, the year of the dragon is extremely lucky - and one of the best years to give birth to a child.
And at least one bride had nothing but the very best of millennium wishes for the world.
SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)
"My biggest wish for the next century is world peace. And, I also hope that all lovers under the sky will be able to get married."
SUPER CAPTION: Vox-pop, 26 year-old newlywed from China's Northeast
But organising the simultaneous marriage of two thousand couples is no easy task and the festive atmosphere was also quite regimented.
After receiving their marriage certificates on the central podium, couples almost ran to have their pictures taken in a predesignated area.
One flash of the camera, one glass of champagne -- the wedding almost resembled a military drill with white lace.
In Shanghai, Rong Junli can say she's seen it all, from China's last emperor to the economic reforms of the eighties.
Born in 1899, according to the west's Gregorian calendar she celebrated her hundredth birthday last March.
But by China's calendar she is a hundred and one years old.
Very healthy and still alert for her age, the old lady can say she's witnessed almost three centuries.
Recalling the past, the 'old Rong' as people call her, said she is happy to see China's free today of the turmoil's it used to have earlier this century.
Asked what her secret is for living so long, the old woman laughs and says it's more a question of state of mind.
SOUNDBITE: (Cantonese)
"I have been living a very happy life, that's all and that's why I am getting healthier day after day. People call me a happy old woman because I've always been satisfied with my life and also I've always enjoyed helping others."
SUPER CAPTION: Rong Junli, 100 years old
Visited regularly by her children and grandchildren who live in the United States and Canada, Rong Junli lives alone with a woman helper, goes to bed early and wakes up at six.
She says she reads the newspaper everyday and watches T-V news to keep aware of what's going on.
Her favorite moment? - the visits by neighbours who bring in their newly born baby.
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Mandarin/Cantonese/Nat
Two thousand couples gathered in Beijing on Friday, the last day of the second millennium, to get married in one huge ceremony.
Sponsored by China's All Women's Federation, the mass wedding was the first in many millennium events scheduled across China for the last day of the century.
And in Shanghai there is an elderly lady who has very nearly seen three centuries - by the Chinese calendar she is a hundred and one years old.
Love, millennium wishes and nationalism all came together this morning in Beijing's Olympic Stadium.
Groups of couples gathered on a podium to receive marriage certificates in the centre of the large stadium.
One group consisted entirely of soldiers and their new wives.
And if some couples waited a long time to finally get married, most felt honoured to participate in this mass ceremony.
SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)
"Following the Motherland crossing into the new millennium, getting married on this kind of a day is a very rare experience."
SUPER CAPTION: Vox-pop, 24 year-old newly wed from Heilongjiang Province
Outside the main hall couples huddled together putting on the final touches of make-up and adjusting their clothes.
Bringing in the year of the dragon, this wedding was considered especially auspicious by young lovers.
According to Chinese tradition, the year of the dragon is extremely lucky - and one of the best years to give birth to a child.
And at least one bride had nothing but the very best of millennium wishes for the world.
SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)
"My biggest wish for the next century is world peace. And, I also hope that all lovers under the sky will be able to get married."
SUPER CAPTION: Vox-pop, 26 year-old newlywed from China's Northeast
But organising the simultaneous marriage of two thousand couples is no easy task and the festive atmosphere was also quite regimented.
After receiving their marriage certificates on the central podium, couples almost ran to have their pictures taken in a predesignated area.
One flash of the camera, one glass of champagne -- the wedding almost resembled a military drill with white lace.
In Shanghai, Rong Junli can say she's seen it all, from China's last emperor to the economic reforms of the eighties.
Born in 1899, according to the west's Gregorian calendar she celebrated her hundredth birthday last March.
But by China's calendar she is a hundred and one years old.
Very healthy and still alert for her age, the old lady can say she's witnessed almost three centuries.
Recalling the past, the 'old Rong' as people call her, said she is happy to see China's free today of the turmoil's it used to have earlier this century.
Asked what her secret is for living so long, the old woman laughs and says it's more a question of state of mind.
SOUNDBITE: (Cantonese)
"I have been living a very happy life, that's all and that's why I am getting healthier day after day. People call me a happy old woman because I've always been satisfied with my life and also I've always enjoyed helping others."
SUPER CAPTION: Rong Junli, 100 years old
Visited regularly by her children and grandchildren who live in the United States and Canada, Rong Junli lives alone with a woman helper, goes to bed early and wakes up at six.
She says she reads the newspaper everyday and watches T-V news to keep aware of what's going on.
Her favorite moment? - the visits by neighbours who bring in their newly born baby.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: Twitter: AP_Archive
Facebook: Facebook: APArchives
Google+: https://plus.google.com/b/10201102858...
Tumblr: https://aparchives.tumblr.com/
Instagram: Instagram: APNews
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
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