Please advise asian BIL getting married in China

[PuppyDogEyes]

Hi,
hope you can advise me.
Dh's brother (who is asian) is marrying a girl from north east china.
Dh, BIL and MIL will be attending their wedding in China next year. But have no idea about traditions, what presents to take, cultural do's and don'ts, or generally what to expect at the wedding and otherwise.
BIL and fiance aren't really explaining very much about it.
Unfortch i won't be going as will be heavily pregnant.
Any info and advise would be welcomed.
Thanks!

Have a look at this

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this

HTH

Thanks for those

What would you suggest they take for gifts for her mum and dad and other relatives.

I can't think of anything from the UK that they won't already have access to.

Or should we take things more relavent to our asian heritage
( but to be honest a lot of things in asian such as nice materials and clothes come from China!)

I'm sure you probably know this, but hong bao/lai see (red envelopes containing cash in lucky denominations, e.g. RMB999 or RMB888) are the standard gifts for the bride and groom.

Do you know much about the bride's family? Face is a HUGE issue and it could actually be taken as a serious insult if your family were to turn up with things that were regarded as, for want of a better word, basic. It could be interpreted as hey, do you think your son is marrying into some peasant family that can't afford a kettle?

However, ALL things English are a huge hit here in China, so as far as presents for the family go, personally I would go nuts at Harrods or from the National Trust catalogue. Things like tinned biscuits/shortbread, Burberry coats/scarves (chavvy I know but out here they're regarded as highly desirable), etc etc etc. Scotch whisky is also highly prized - a bottle of single malt for each of the close male relatives would be looked upon very favourably.

Is the family rural or urban, do you know? I am in Shanghai so don't know very much about the rural way of life.

I shouldn't worry about the wedding itself - it will be huge and colourful (and probably extremely boozy) and your family will just be swept along. If your family are not big drinkers they will have to go into training - there will be bai jiao (methylated spirits, as far as I can tell) by the bucket and it's rude not to drink it. Obviously I'm assuming that her family are Han Chinese and not Muslim.

Sorry, I meant to ask, are you and your family BBCs?

It's kind of hard to tailor advice without knowing how much knowledge to assume.

Just thought, a framed watercolour of something from your area that's historical (Tower of London, Windsor Castle, Norman church) would also probably go down well for the bride's parents.

In my experience Chinese people love to be cosmopolitan and will enjoy a reminder of your exotic home town.

Thanks for replying ninedragons! your suggestions are very much appreciated.

BIL (& family in general) are Pakistani muslims.
His Fiance is Chineese, her family are not muslim.
(by BBC do you mean Brtish born chineese? if so, she's CBC and he's BBP)

therfore DH is not keen on buying alcohol as gifts. BIL has suggested Cigars to DH.

I put forward the burberry suggestion and BIL sad that there is loads of fake stuff made where they are, that everyone wears, so its not worth it.

BIL has been over a few times.

Any other suggestions would be welcomed because i really want to send some nice things and make a good impression.
Wedding gifts seem important for both cultures.

Sorry, I didn't realise they were Muslim, or obviously I wouldn't have suggested alcohol.

Anything that's so English it's almost twee will be a hit, so I will ponder more suggestions.

If Burberry is too faked to have any currency, I'd suggest Jaeger, Liberty or Harrods for the older women in the family. Northern China is COLD so scarves and gloves will come in handy.

For all the little boys in the family, anything to do with Manchester United (sad but true) is almost certain to go down well. The football shirts are available here, but if you have a shop near you any other merchandise such as pencil cases, perhaps even duvet covers and pillow cases would make their school friends EXPLODE with jealousy. Make sure you pack it in the original bag from the Man U shop - even the carrier bag will be smugly used for PE kit/school lunch! For the little girls I would go for Harrods teddy bears.

Frankly probably the best thing your BIL is bringing is the foreigner exemption from the one-child policy! A promise to pop out dozens of children would be the best present of all for the grannies!

Sorry, meant to say that I would also bring some distinctively Pakistani gifts as well - things like those colourful glass bangles, spices etc.