Songcheng Hangzhou Paradise
Recreated Song Dynasty town where a thrown silk ball still decides a stranger's mock marriage.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Songcheng Hangzhou Paradise traces an old marriage custom back to unmarried women who once tossed an embroidered silk ball from a tower into a crowd of hopeful bachelors below, the catch standing in for a proposal. It follows how the park, built in 1996 as a recreation of a Song dynasty street, revives that ritual every day on Urban Street with a costumed thrower the crowd calls Miss Wang. Step forward with the crowd and watch the faces around you angle and elbow, quietly hoping the ball lands in their hands.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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