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Lisa Cam

A Chinese wedding has many of the trappings of a Western marriage and in addition rituals, traditions and matters of etiquette to follow. In our series on Chinese weddings, we break these down and tell you how to get everything right.
When you receive an invitation to a Chinese wedding, there is often an extra envelope that contains a cake voucher – a part of a practice that dates back centuries.
One story goes that the Chinese wedding cake tradition was born during the Three Kingdoms period (220AD-280AD) in ancient China.
At that time, Sun Quan, a governor, pretended to marry his sister to warlord Liu Bei as part of a scheme to take back disputed land from the warlord.
Liu’s strategist, Zhuge Liang, saw through this and turned the ploy back on Sun by asking Liu to hire a well-regarded pastry chef to make “dragon and phoenix” cakes – symbolic of harmony in a marriage – and to give them out to every household in the area.
After word about the marriage got out, Sun Quan had no choice but to marry his sister to Liu.

Commoners began to follow suit, distributing cakes to announce coming nuptials, which became a Chinese wedding custom. These cakes are still used to share the joy of such an occasion with family and friends.
The wedding cake must be distributed by the bride’s family but is only paid for by the groom’s family as one of a number of betrothal gifts, which help to repay the bride’s family for their efforts in raising her.
Aside from this, the practice of wedding cakes varies across the region. Some cakes, for example, are distributed after the wedding ceremony, some before the wedding banquet, some after the banquet, and others during.
The traditional wedding cake in southern China is a specific type of Chinese-style pastry. In the northwest region, where wheat is plentiful, steamed buns are used.
In many areas in the south, sesame cakes – with fillings such as sesame seeds, dried fruit, dried melon skins and white sugar – are used. The round cakes have a double happiness pattern printed on the surface and are sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Wedding cakes in Taiwan are generally divided into three main categories: big cakes, box cakes and double cakes.
A “big cake” is a large, round gift cake, which includes a gift for close relatives and friends. A “box cake” is traditionally a box of six Chinese-styled cakes. The “double cake” is usually a set of two gift cakes, which has the meaning of “forever united”.
In some places, the bride is not allowed to eat the cake for fear that she will deplete the fortune and blessings bestowed upon the marriage.
Food is Heaven, a novel by writer and Hong Kong Baptist University professor Ge Liang, describes wedding cakes in teahouses in Guangdong and Hong Kong in the 19th century as “five-colour cakes”, with the different colours of the pastry having different meanings.
Red cakes with lotus paste, for example, mean happiness and good luck, while yellow with mung bean represents gold and silver fortune, and white with mixed nuts signifies growing old and grey together.
Junno Li, executive chef of The Chinese Library restaurant in Hong Kong, says the biggest difference between wedding cakes and other Chinese pastries is the red stamp on top, often of the character for double happiness.
“There are different fillings depending on which region they are made. Some in Guangdong will have sweetened winter melon paste, red bean paste and lotus seed paste.”
A version of these has evolved into what is now known as “wife cake”, a popular item in Hong Kong bakeries.
“There are several versions of the story of ‘wife cakes’, but the most popular one is that this is a recipe a wife gave her husband and he was able to make a business from selling the cakes. So it’s been called ‘wife cakes’ to honour her contribution to his wealth,” Li explains.

As European-styled cakes and bakeries grew in popularity in Hong Kong during the 1950s and ’60s, so did the style of cakes used to announce weddings.
The city’s bakeries began providing a voucher for wedding guests instead of an actual cake, to make things more convenient for fast-living Hongkongers.
These vouchers are used to redeem everyday bakery items like pineapple buns or, at certain bakeries, can be pooled with other vouchers to redeem an entire cake.
Maxim’s, one of the largest bakery chains in Hong Kong, was one of the first to provide such cake vouchers.
“Maxim’s cake [voucher] has an indefinite validity period and is currently quite popular in the resale market, particularly among collectors of nostalgic items,” says a Maxim’s representative.
“Maxim’s cake [voucher] was once regarded as a form of currency, and neighbours would use it to exchange gifts and engage with one another.”


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Chinese culture

Why your Chinese wedding invite has a cake voucher included, and traditional types of cake

Assorted Chinese wedding cakes. Photo: May Tse

Chinese “double happiness pastries” are commonly used as wedding cakes in southern China. Photo: Shutterstock

The different colours of the pastry used for some wedding cakes have different meanings. Photo: May Tse

A plate of wife cakes from The Chinese Library in Tai Kwun, Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

What are must-have items in a Chinese wedding banquet? Popular dishes and their symbolism

A bridegroom and bride toast with friends and relatives at a wedding banquet in Shanghai. Chefs in Hong Kong break down Chinese wedding banquets must-haves. Photo: Shutterstock

Jayson Tang is the executive Chinese chef of the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong in Admiralty. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

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Qun kwa, a type of wedding dress worn in Hong Kong and other parts of southern China, comes in different grades based on how much of the red base fabric is covered with gold and silver embroidery. Photo: Jelly Tse

A traditional Chinese wedding dress featuring an embroidered phoenix motif. Photo: Shutterstock

Traditional wedding dress for a bride and groom worn at a Chinese wedding. Photo: Shutterstock

The Chinese rice wine drunk at weddings, and its bittersweet side

Chinese bride wine containers in Shaoxing, eastern China. Photo: Getty Images

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Hong Kong noodle history and the different noodle styles explained

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Wheat noodles originate in Northern China, while rice noodles have Southern Chinese origins, says Dr Siu Yan-ho, a lecturer in Chinese language and literature at Baptist University. 

Marco Li Ka-chi of Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle balancing on a bamboo pole to make noodles. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Shrimp roe thick noodle lo mien at Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

 Cheung Wing Kee started making noodles in the 1950s, producing small quantities using labour-intensive methods.

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Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Chinese wedding customs

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A still from a viral Chinese social media video of a woman being tied to a lamppost by men during a Chinese wedding hazing ritual. Photo: Weibo

A groom holding a bouquet knocks on his bride’s door while his bride’s friends watch. Door games are a staple of Chinese weddings in which the groom and his friends must complete challenges to “claim” the bride. Photo: Getty Images

A still from a video showing men taping a bridesmaid to a lamp post and setting off firecrackers at her feet. This is one of many wedding hazing incidents that has ignited debate in recent years.

A still from a video showing bridesmaids injured during a wedding in Shenzhen, southern China. Photo: qq.com

A still from a video of a man tied to an electricity pole as part of a wedding hazing incident. Chinese authorities are trying to stamp out the practice. Photo: thepaper.cn

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Chinese wedding rituals, from hair combing to door games to tea ceremonies, explained

Tools needed for a pre-wedding hair-combing ceremony. Photo: Edmond So

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Combs, scissors, thread and a mirror belonging to Lo Kan-fong, who is a bride’s chaperon for Chinese weddings. Photo: Edmond So

Chan Wah-yuet is a bride’s chaperon who helps couples perform Chinese wedding rituals. Photo: Chan Yuet-wah

Bride’s chaperon Lo Kan-fong holds up a qun kua, a red two-piece wedding set usually embroidered with lucky motifs. Photo: Edmond So

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Bride’s chaperon Lo Kan-fong with a tea ceremony set. In the olden days, the Chinese tea ceremony was done with the bride’s elders first at her home, and then with the groom’s elders at his home. Photo: Edmond So

People carry a pig and other gifts to a bride’s home in China. Photo: Getty Images

The enduring Chinese love affair with gold wedding jewellery, the dragon and the phoenix

Chinese weddings traditions involve giving lots of gold jewellery to the bride, who should wear as much as possible on her wedding day. Photo: Getty Images

In Chinese tradition, the mother-in-law gives the bride four gold ornaments: a necklace, a bracelet, a pair of earrings and a ring. Photo: Getty Images

Traditional Chinese wedding gifts include gold bangles, often engraved with a dragon and a phoenix, and the Chinese characters for “double happiness”. Photo: Shutterstock

Gold is often a feature on Chinese traditional wedding outfits. Photo: Getty Images

Chinese wedding rituals, from betrothal to dowry to readying the bridal bed, explained

The bridal bed is made with red sheets and pillow cases, red being the most auspicious colour in Chinese tradition. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Lo Kan-fong, a “bride’s chaperon” for Chinese weddings, with a tea set that typically forms part of the bride’s dowry. Photo: Edmond So

A couple serve the groom’s parents tea after the bride has moved into their home, so the bridal dowry should include everything needed for the ceremony. Photo: Shutterstock Images

The bride’s dowry should include red sheets and pillow cases with which to make the bridal bed. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Children will receive lai see red packets containing money to thank them for performing the ritual of jumping up and down on the bridal bed. Photo: Shutterstock Images

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Fortune-tellers examine a potential Chinese bride and groom’s month, year, day and time of birth, and their and their parents’ zodiac signs, to see if they are compatible. Photo: Shutterstock

If the couple’s birth animals align and do not clash, fortune-tellers say they will have a good family life. Photo: Shutterstock

In Chinese culture, each year is associated with one of 12 animals, and these animals either align or clash. Photo: Shutterstock

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6 Chinese wedding customs, including pouring tea, and things to avoid, such as wearing red

A traditional tea ceremony at a Chinese wedding. Photo: Shutterstock

Chinese wedding attendees hold cups as part of a traditional tea ceremony. We look at why pouring tea is an important nuptial ritual, which wedding dates are considered unlucky in Chinese culture, and more. Photo: Shutterstock

A groom in traditional dress surrounded by his groomsmen at a Chinese wedding. Photo: Shutterstock

Lai see red packets containing money are given to the bride and groom at Chinese weddings. Photo: Shutterstock

At Chinese weddings, family members will often present the bride and groom with gifts of gold jewellery. Photo: Shutterstock

A traditional tea ceremony at a Chinese wedding. The bride and groom pour tea for their family members to show respect, and in return receive gifts. Photo: Shutterstock

A couple wear red traditional Zhuang dress for their wedding in Nanning, in Guangxi, southern China. Photo: Getty Images

Roast pig, especially suckling pig, is among the most common dishes served at Chinese weddings. Photo: Shutterstock

A cake voucher often accompanies an invitation to a Chinese wedding, part of a practice that dates back centuries


A cake voucher often accompanies an invitation to a Chinese wedding, part of a practice that dates back centuries.
