Long Dresses Amongst Decay

Originally posted 24th April 2015

by The Pearl

Bride and Groom Eating Lunch

Whilst we were waiting for a ferry I noticed a bride dressed in wedding finery next to a young man who was evidently her groom eating their noodle lunch as they waited to board the ferry over to Gulang Yu.  And then another one arrived.  Both girls’ dresses were laced at the back for a proper fit – they are hired you see for the Western Style wedding  photos these couples want to record their marriage.  The photos are not necessarily taken on the day of the marriage – in fact

Laced wedding dress

This groom on the right already seemed fed up

Another bride for the ferry

they can take place several weeks after the event and I have heard it said that some couples have got divorced before they have even got to the day of the photographs.  You can see that, as in the UK, this is a terribly important event for the young brides and for some of the young men too, but it was obvious to me that one or two of the men were just going along with the proceedings.  Anyway each girl is fulfilling her dream of a long dress (not necessarily white) in a romantic location and a mini-production team, including what could possibly be a make-up artist take the ferry across to the island.  On our boat there were at least three of these brides – there may have been more – on their way to Gulang Yu as THE place to take wedding shots.
It is not just the brides that come in long dresses though – Gulang Yu is the only place I have been so far where Chinese girls wear long dresses.  It seems to be the place to go for a romantic experience  – long dress, floral headband or sun hat and if you are staying at one of the hotels on the island a colourful suitcase.

Tourists in long dresses

Floral hats and suitcases to match

Our guide book had warned us that it was a good idea to get as far from the coast and as high up as quickly as possible to avoid the crowds so as soon as we got off the ferry, despite the heat that is what we did.
The colonialists who made Amoy their home at the beginning of the twentieth century, much like those in Shanghai, did so on Gulang Yu by building themselves fashionable new homes that reflected their own native architecture, wherever they were from.  These houses are scattered all over the island with some magnificent ones right at the top of the hill – as ever the richest grabbing the best views.
When the Japanese took over in 1938 (for China WWII started earlier than for the rest of us) all the westerners left.  For the four years after the Japanese were defeated the Communists fought against the Kuomintang Republicans and won in 1949.  After all that there was

Wedding photography

Young Banyan Trees and blocked up house

nobody  with the money to maintain these large houses and the rot set in.  And just as in Cuba, in the sub-tropical heat with its heavy downpours the local fauna and flora started to rapidly encroach and the whole mix has lead to decay.  So on the way up the hill, as we passed this couple having the photographs

Older Banyan Tree

Scarlet bride

done we started to find banyan trees that were reclaiming the land again.  And even bigger, older banyan trees that were started to lower their aerial roots to the ground.  Once they touch down they will form trunklets, that will eventually grow the circumference of the tree.  These trees made a good backdrop for a scarlet bride.  As we walked on we looked at more and more grand houses that looked just ripe for the new breed of property developers that are starting to resurrect the old buildings in Shanghai ready for the nouveau riche of China.




In fact as we walked on we found that it was already starting to happen:

The WanShuiQianShan Hotel at the top of the Hill

Hotel sign

Moon and Flowers Hotel

But on the top of the hill these were isolated renovations.  In general there was decay and overgrowth, with trees growing over walls, vines over houses, overgrown gardens, rusted railings, chained up and boarded up houses with banyan trees taking over. Although there were small trucks, thankfully no scooters are allowed on the island, so it made walking around quite pleasant and you didn’t have to keep looking around you or have your senses on heightened alert just to ensure your own safety as you do elsewhere in China.




As we dropped down the hill, however, the quality of the maintenance/renovations improved somewhat, so in fact it wasn’t as desperate a situation as we first thought.  And there were some interesting European mouldings and decorations that were being used.


We continued to take photographs of the places that we liked, and when Richard spent some time getting his perfect shot of The Yang’s Villa built in 1935  the arriving bride and groom waited patiently behind him for their turn.

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And all over place the girls were continuing to choose various places for their photographs, fulfilling whatever dream they had, be it in Qing dynasty wedding robes, purple meringues, virginal white, scarlet woman or whatever, with most of the grooms in ill-fitting or poorly chosen suits.
But for me, the most successfully dressed were these two people, although they were not

Bride in elegant floor-length Cheongsam

Groom in Mandarin Collared Jacket

married to each other.  Both were wearing clothes that had vintage design elements of Chinese  clothing that take into account their native body shape and are not trying to take on some western fantasy. They even had the same taste in colour.  The bride’s actual groom was wearing a black mandarin jacket, but he was wearing black skinny jeans with it, which just spoilt the whole effect.  I can’t help thinking that if life were fair these two would have found each other.