Twenty-nine couples from Shanghai and Beijing were married on Saturday at St Isaac Square in St Petersburg during a grand "Rose Wedding" ceremony.

 

 

Russian bride Irina Girshfeld and her Shanghainese groom, Qian Jichao, try to bite an apple, a game popular at Chinese wedding. They were married at a mass ceremony in St Petersburg on Saturday, June 16, 2007, where 29 couples tied the knot.

 

The government-organized annual mass ceremony was part of the Shanghai Week program in St Petersburg, which is also part of the Year of China in Russia. Shanghai Week will finish on Monday.

 

During the nuptials, all the brides wore qipao gowns, and the grooms were also dressed in traditional Chinese costumes.

 

Irina Girshfeld, the only Russian bride, and her Shanghai native groom, Qian Jichao, were in the spotlight. They registered their marriage in May after a three-year courtship online. The couple had their first face-to-face meeting in March in Shanghai.

 

Qian said the two communicate in English, as the bride can't speak Chinese and he can't speak Russian.

 

They plan to settle down in Shanghai. Qian's new wife has booked a Chinese language class in Shanghai, the groom said.

 

The bride's mother, Yefgania, came from their hometown in Voronezh to attend her daughter's wedding. She said she was impressed by Shanghai during her visit to the city in March.

 

(Shanghai Daily June 18, 2007)