For most cities in China, the golden, autumnal colors of November have come. But this year in Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong province, the color of the season is pink.

The 2017 Qingdao International Wedding Festival kicked off in Badaguan, a scenic spot in the city featuring gardens and Western-style houses built at the turn of the 20th century.

The wedding dress exhibition was a must-see, with most of the garments from renowned worldwide brands.

Badaguan is located in Shinan district, a central part of Qingdao with picturesque beaches. Due to its unique natural landscape, Shinan has become the destination of choice for many engaged couples in northern China.

Every year, more than 100,000 couples travel to Qingdao to take wedding pictures and spend their honeymoon in the district.

The wedding festival this year was aimed at attracting more new couples and revitalizing the wedding service industry in the city.

The release of international wedding fashion trends drew a great deal of attention at the opening ceremony. Famous brands such as La Sposa, Pronovias and Vera Wang brought new designs to the exhibition.

Some of the wedding dresses were noble, luxurious and elegant, others modern and modest. Their exhibition showcased the leading trends in modern wedding dresses.

Qingdao has two core resources with which to develop wedding tours, said Xu Wei, head of the Wedding Tourism Association of Hainan Province.

"One is the beautiful seashore, the other is the enjoyable climate, which together make it the most promising wedding destination in northern China," Xu said.

He added that support from the local government will become a key driving force for the development of the wedding service industry.

Since Qingdao has rich tourism resources, Shinan district can be built into a fashionable and happy town, Xu said.

Qingdao can build up its brand as a wedding destination via celebrity promotions, advertising and new designs for brand images and logos, according to Xie Meiqi, chief executive of Bali Kami Tourist and Weddings Group.

"To create a wedding destination, you need the integration of industrial resources in tourism and wedding services. Only if the government, industry and companies work together, can we contribute to the upgrading and integration of the industry," said Shi Kangning, an expert in the industry.

Leveraging this year's wedding festival, Shinan district will continue to promote the business of wedding-themed tourism - such as honeymoon travel and wedding photography tours, aiming to build itself into a top destination for newlyweds.

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(China Daily 11/08/2017 page12)