Ruoqiang County (若羌县) in Xinjiang will hold its "Romantic Qixi, Love in Ruoqiang" (浪漫七夕·爱在若羌) 2026 Chinese-style group wedding on August 19 — the seventh day of the seventh lunar month — at the county's Baili Culture Plaza, and is now recruiting 10 couples from across the county to take part. The event is organized by the county party committee's publicity department and the county center for new-era civilized practice, together with the culture and tourism bureau, the civil affairs bureau, the women's federation, the Communist Youth League committee, and the general trade union.
Eligible applicants are couples with Ruoqiang household registration or long-term work and residence in the county who plan to register their marriage in 2026, or who obtained their first marriage certificate within the past year. Applicants must endorse the concept of wedding custom reform, respond to the call to change outdated customs — no extravagant waste, no rowdy wedding hazing — and be willing to practice and spread civilized wedding conventions. Registration is open from now until August 5, 2026.
Selected couples receive a fully sponsored "luxury package" covering five items. First, a Chinese-style ceremony: wearing traditional Hanfu or Xiuhu bridal dress (秀禾服), and under the guidance of a professional master of ceremonies, experiencing the Hejin ritual (合卺礼), in which the couple drinks from a gourd split in two, and the Jiefa ritual (结发礼), in which their hair is bound together. Second, a memento: free high-quality wedding photography, including retouched prints and an album. Third, a wedding gift package presented by the organizers. Fourth, media coverage: the county convergence media center will report the event from start to finish. Fifth, an honor certificate: couples receive a "Ruoqiang County New-Style Civilized Family (Newlywed)" certificate.
Registration works online or in person. Online, couples scan the recruitment QR code, fill out the "Romantic Qixi, Love in Ruoqiang" 2026 registration form, and send it to [email protected]. In person, they can submit materials at the county publicity department office (Room 401, 4th floor, the joint office building of the county archives). The contact is Zhang Yi (张伊) at 0996-7102476.
This is not Ruoqiang's first Qixi group wedding. As part of the "Our Festival · Qixi" series of civilized practice activities, the county has promoted simplified and civilized wedding customs through Chinese-style rituals for years. At the 2024 Qixi group wedding, couples in resplendent traditional Chinese wedding dress went through 11 ritual steps — including the Qianjin ceremony of leading by a red ribbon (牵巾礼), stepping over a saddle, stepping over a fire pan, the Queshan fan ceremony, the three bows, the Hejin ritual, and the Zhishou hand-in-hand ceremony. Yang Guilong (杨贵龙), secretary of the party leading group and deputy director of the county civil affairs bureau, presented the wedding documents and marriage certificates; Sun Guangyu and Yin Xiuhua (孙广宇、殷绣花), a couple married for 50 golden years, delivered their blessings; and a representative of the new couples issued a proposal to the county's young people calling for "advocating civilized wedding customs and carrying forward the new social ethos," urging everyone to abandon outdated conventions, "cool down" bride prices, and "lighten the burden" on love. Zhou Fengjuan (周凤娟), deputy head of the county party committee publicity department, said the county holds group weddings on Qixi to promote modest, appropriate wedding rituals and a civilized wedding culture, letting people affirm the social value of "changing customs and reducing the burden of love" in a joyful atmosphere, and strengthening both marital happiness and social responsibility.
"Love needs no lavish accumulation — only sincere confession. This Qixi, let us make the most solemn vows through the most traditional rites," the organizers wrote in the recruitment notice, hoping the couples will feel romance and, in the process, become carriers of fine traditional Chinese culture and drivers of healthy new wedding customs. On the wedding day, the Ruoqiang convergence media center will cover the entire ceremony, preserving the couples' highlight moment.
