Quanzhou Huian Women
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Quanzhou city, founded in 718 in the Tang Dynasty, is noted for its time-honored culture and a famous historic exchange center between the West and the East in ancient times. As the starting point of the 'Silk Road on the Sea', Quanzhou came through a very long golden age of ocean transportation and foreign trades with about 100 nations since it became a prosperous open port city as early as in the Five Dynasties. In the Yuan Dynasty, Marco Polo said that it could parallel Alexander Port. Quanzhou witnessed the history and had earned a fame 'Museum of religions' for many old sites of Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christiarity, Catholicism, Brahminism and more.
Something attractive beyond the history of Quanzhou is Huian women. Groups of women with yellow bamboo hat, fancy-pattern head wrap, blue short shirt, silver waist lace, wide-end trouser, lend a uniuqe view. With a distinctive image, the Huian women are always playing a hard-working role on the farmland, salt fields, quarry sites and the deck of fishing boats.
The Huian women keep a 'unbelievable' custom. The married women tie a silver lace on the waist. The lace is given by their husband as a piece of dowery. A newely married woman usually do not live with her husband and come back home three days after her wedding. She only stays at her husband's home for two or three days during the traditional festivals. When she come to her husband's home she is veiled until the time to say good night. Then she have to leave and arrive home before a dawn. She does't live together with her husband until she is preganent.
However, most of young huian women have not followed the way of old custom and clothing no longer now. when the senior Huian women pass away, we can only see their unique image in the movie and dance, but not in life.
