How Chinese wedding dresses are made, their symbolism and why some can cost US$13,000

Whether cheongsam or qun kua, here is what the colours and embroidery mean on Chinese wedding dresses and why some can take a year to make

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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

Published: 1:00pm, 12 Nov 2024Updated: 4:54pm, 12 Nov 2024

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.

Choosing a beautiful dress for the big day can be extremely stressful for brides the world over. In Chinese culture, however, a wedding dress should not only look stunning but also bring the married couple happiness and longevity.

In most parts of China, brides wear a one-piece cheongsam on their wedding day. In Hong Kong and other parts of southern China, they wear a traditional dress called a qun kua, or kwan kwa in Cantonese.

Qun means dress and kua means jacket. It is a straightforward and accurate description of the simple two-piece ceremonial garment.

Both the wedding cheongsam and qun kua come in red, the most auspicious colour in Chinese culture, representing happiness, luck and fortune. They also both feature an embroidered phoenix and dragon representing the bride and groom, respectively.

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

The phoenix represents beauty, grace and the Chinese yin, while the dragon represents power, strength and the yang. The two are embroidered together on the dresses to symbolise a long, happy marriage.