Dali
Later we visited a house opened to tourists, where we were treated with three cups of tea and performance. The “Bai” minority young ladies prefer to be called, not as “Siao Jie” (Miss in Mandarin), but “Jin Hua” (Golden Flower) instead.
The house was decorated for a wedding. The two pillows before the table with candles and flowers were for the bride and groom to kneel and pay respect to their parents.
Inside the house was a bridal sedan-chair covered with red silk and embroidery to be carried by four runners. Similar sedan-chair precursor of rickshaw for brides have been have been used for wedding for hundreds of years. It is a perfect vehicle to transport brides from her village to the groom's over hilly paths or rice paddy dikes.
The room or office at the left was for the scholar of the family ("book reader"). Except for the chairs, the other furniture seemed authentic.
A typical Chinese house is built as a "compound" having four perpendicular two-story rows with the ends abutting each other. The building forms a wall with a central open air court. This stronghold style is to protect the inhabitants from thieves and robbers. The second story has a walkway around the outside of the rooms, and the central court is for family members to meet and chat or play games.
The photo above shows a court for family activities. It usually has a pool or fish pond to store water in case of fire. Several families and maybe three generations can live in the "compound". Such a house can be seen at the Peabody Museum in Salem, MA.
The dancers (above) had fancy moves and the ladies (below) had a more traditional performance.
The bride and groom were greeted by friends and dancers. Red is a happy color for Chinese. It has nothing to do with party affiliation.
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