Travel Notes
中国文化

婚礼と祝祭の伝統服飾

· #汉服#旗袍#传统服饰#hanfu#qipao#traditional clothing#textile#fashion heritage#中英双语#Travel Notes

Traditional Dress at Weddings and Festivals

Different occasions call for different clothes — Chinese dress codes for weddings, Spring Festival, and Mid-Autumn are more particular than you’d imagine.

Wedding Attire

Brides at modern Chinese weddings most often wear xiuhe gowns (red embroidered robes) or dragon-phoenix jackets (gold-thread embroidered coats). They change to a white wedding dress for Western-style segments, then a red evening gown for the toasting segment — three outfit changes per wedding is normal.

Traditional Dress in Chinese Weddings & Festivals

Guest dress taboos: ① No all-red (upstaging the bride) ② No all-white or all-black (funeral association) ③ Nothing too revealing. Safe choices: women in pink/blue dresses, men in dark suits.

Spring Festival Attire

Wearing new clothes for Spring Festival is tradition — “new clothes for the new year bring good luck.” Red is the preferred color, but you don’t need head-to-toe red. A red sweater, red scarf, or red socks suffice. Elders in Tang suits and children in padded Chinese jackets are classic scenes.

Mid-Autumn and Double Ninth

Mid-Autumn has no strict dress code, but wearing Hanfu for the festival has become a new trend — especially at park moon-viewing events. Double Ninth mountain climbing calls for sportswear, but wearing dogwood sprigs in the hair is traditional (now often replaced with chrysanthemums).

Funeral Attire

Understanding funeral dress codes helps avoid cultural misunderstandings. Chinese funerals use white and black. Family members wear white rough-hemp mourning clothes; guests wear dark, plain clothing. Never wear red to a funeral — it’s the biggest taboo.

Tips: If invited to a Chinese wedding, giving a red envelope (cash gift) is expected. Amount is usually ¥200-1,000 in a red envelope.

…