Wedding bus a new fad among Chinese newlyweds

NANCHANG -- Adorned with red ribbons on the nose and paper cuttings of auspicious Chinese characters on the windows, a public electric bus was transformed into a wedding bus, cutting a dashing figure on the road.

"The wedding bus is spacious enough to accommodate my family and friends. We sat together and had a jolly time singing and playing games along the way," said the newlywed Zhang Qingqing, who rented a bus for her wedding day transport in Nanchang city, capital of East China's Jiangxi Province.

In China, it has been a common practice for couples to hire a fleet of some 10 sedans on their big day to transport them and their guests to the wedding venue. "It would cost a lot, and my family and friends have to be scattered in different cars, where it is easy to feel bored and lonely," said Zhang.

Before the wedding, Zhang found out through a social media platform that hiring a wedding bus had been in vogue among many young newlyweds. The photos of various novel, unique, and trendy wedding buses shared by netizens captured Zhang's heart instantly.

"It resonates with our taste as young people. Our parents and friends all liked our ideas," said Wang Yu'an, Zhang's husband. The couple soon booked a wedding bus through the wedding bus hire service provider, Jiangxi Nanchang Public Transportation Group Co., Ltd.

On the eve of their wedding day, the couple arrived at the parking lot where the bus was parked and decorated it with ribbons, paper cuttings and balloons along with their friends. Everyone felt involved, the couple said.

According to the Nanchang public transportation group, since the launch of the wedding bus hire service in March last year, the company has seen approximately 100 couples hiring public buses for their weddings, and almost all of them are young people born after 1995.

Xu Rong, assistant to the general manager of Nanchang public transportation group, said when the buses are hired, bus drivers will be provided, while the bus route can be customized according to the couple's preferences.

The wedding bus hire services are also available in multiple cities in the provinces like Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shandong. The bus rental prices range from several hundred to thousands of yuan per vehicle per day, based on the distance traveled and the length of time the bus is occupied.