The Bridal Industry in BaiTang Arboretum

 I was walking through BaiTang park, and noticed what looked like a Christian church on the North side of the lake.  This struck me as odd.  (Not because there are no churches in China....there are several around Suzhou.  They are not common, but yet not unheard of either.)  It was unexpected to see a church in a public park.

 On closer investigation I found that it was not truly a church.  It was merely the facade of a church.  It was a prop for the bridal industry in BaiTang Arboretum.  It was part of a cinematic studio set that also included an Italian-style arcade, a French-looking village home-front, and a Venetian bridge with gondolas. 

Other locales - like Moon Harbor or the JinjiHu Lakeside - passively attract newlyweds because of their natural scenery.  BaiTang park, it seems, is actively going after that business with scenery both natural and artificial.

 The North side of the lake was crawling with wedding parties.  They were taking advantage of both the natural scenery and the phony backdrops.  Behind the doors of the church and underneath the Italian archways there were dressing rooms and make-up salons.  I'm guessing that, as part of a package deal, the couples get the photos, the costumes, and all the grooming done on-site.  To them it is probably a great deal.  Much more convenient to have your make-up done in a faux church than in the back of a mini-van.

 I didn't play the bride counting game, but I'm sure the number would have been in the twenties.  In closing, I need to point out two photos.  The photo below is one of the park people movers decorated to look like a bridal limo.  Three cheers for capitalism.  The very top photo is a young couple that kindly agreed to pose for me.  They are dressed in costume...the costume of People's Liberation Army circa 1949.  There are many popular movies set the 1949 time period and all of them are part political history, part love story.  All feature a handsome young man in love with a beautiful, pure young woman.  The couple at top might have come straight off of the movie posters.