Wedding photographs in Chinese shop window tell a story, but what?
Some things in China haven't changed, among them the fashion for family portraits shot in studios to mark special occasions, writes Cecilie Gamst Berg
Amid the relentless modernisation of mainland China can be found odd flashbacks to the halcyon days of yore. For example, despite being selfie-mongers of the highest order, mainlanders still like to go to studios and have their photo taken.
One such studio is in Kaiping, in Guangdong province. Last month my friend M and I were in that town, staggering back to our hotel from a Sichuan meal of such splendour, beauty and reasonable price that we decided we would move into that restaurant and live there forever.
Outside the brightly, nay, overlit shop window of a photo studio we stopped for a rest.
"Oh wow! Check out the English on that!" M said.
Printed on a large bridal photograph were the words, "The felling of the house. Love you so good / It's very kind of you my world only you / Only you my eyes."
But that wasn't what was unusual about the image: instead of portraying a glimmering couple draped around each other in a gondola or on a fake beach at "sunset", six people had been crammed into the picture.
In the middle was the happy couple, who looked to be in their mid-50s; she was wearing the whole bridal get-up of white dress and tiara, the groom mercifully opting for a dark dinner jacket instead of the all-white suit so popular nowadays.