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Rose Wedding looks to EU
The participants in the Rose Wedding, an annual group-marriage ceremony in Shanghai, may do it in Europe this year, provided the European Union gains Approved Destination Status. On february 12, the EU countries signed a memo with the Chinese government to be granted ADS approval, an exclusive agreement in China that permits the countries to host Chinese tourist groups. The final agreement is expected to be reached in May. If approved, the two-week itinerary will cover four countries - France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria, said Frank Cao, director of the Rose Wedding Organizing Committee, yesterday. "Traditionally, Europe is thought of as a romantic land for marriages," said Cao, explaining how the idea was initiated. Cao said the visit will be timed with Shanghai Week of the Sino-French Culture Year in France in July.'' The 30 to 50 couples from Shanghai will join a parade in Paris organized for the celebration of Shanghai Week. "The package is planned to include the wedding pictures shot on the boulevards of Paris, a cruise on the Seine river and a sledding activity in the mountains of Switzerland," said Cao. The cost per couple would be between 40,000 to 50,000 yuan (US$4,819 to US$6,024). Since its beginning in 1999, the overseas version of Rose Wedding has happened in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and New Zealand, attracting around 250 couples. Its local version, which is held by the Luwan District Tourism Bureau annually in October as a program of the Shanghai International Tourism Festival, has witnessed the joining of more than 2,000 couples. |
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