Huian

Hui'an County is only 30 kilometers away from Quanzhou. The dress of the women in the fishing villages on Chongwu island of Hui'an County is very interesting. They wear different-coloured jackets, which are very short and narrow. Their jackets are so short that they also like to wear big bamboo hats to cover their heads. The big hats and large kerchiefs on their heads shield their faces. There are different sayings about the costumes of the women in Hui'an. It is said that they might be descended from the Yue tribe of ancient times. Hui'an people have lived there for generations. They seldom have contacts with people outside. Today the women there still dress like this because they want to preserve their traditions. The marriage customs are unusual. At a wedding ceremony, the bride with a red cloth covering her head and face is led by a bridesmaid to the groom's home. To the sound of firecrackers, the bride and bridesmaid walk around the bonfire in front of the bridegroom's house to drive monsters and ghosts away and to pray for safety for the family. When the bride enters the house after the wedding ceremony, the groom takes the red cloth off with a steel beam. Then the bride goes to the bridal chamber. But the newly married couple is not allowed to stay in the bridal chamber together. The bride usually stays with a neighbor or asks her bridesmaids to stay with her in the bridal chamber or she sits at the table alone until dawn. The groom has to stay at a friend's home for the night. area code: 595