At a traditional Chinese wedding, the bride is often seen with a red veil on her head. It covers the bride’s face. Chinese people call the veil, made of a laced silk square, "red head cover".
The practice dates back to the Qi Period (479-502) of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The head cover was used by women farmers to protect their heads against cold wind or hot sunshine, while working in the fields. It could be a cloth of any color and was big enough to cover the head top. For its practical use and ornamental function, the head cover became a widespread custom. By the beginning of Tang Dynasty (618-907), the cover had become a long veil down to the shoulder. And it was no longer a privilege of working women. Later, Emperor Li Jilong made a decision. He demanded that all maids-in-waiting in the palace add a piece of gauze to the head covers, to cover their faces. It soon became a fashion among the commoners. But the commoners changed the cover’s function. In those days, women’s faces were thought of as a lure to men. A husband did not want his beautiful wife to be an attraction to other men. He wanted her to behave bashfully and look too shy to see men. A veil was just what was needed; And the wife readily accepted the veil, as a way to show her loyalty to her husband. Gradually the veils became popular among both married and unmarried women, who were eager to demonstrate their virtues. Veils are not unique in China. Even today veils can still be seen in some other places in the world. The custom lasted about a thousand years. Since the Jin Dynasty (936-946), a veil became a must for brides at the wedding. The color of the bride’s veil is always red, as it symbolizes happiness.

The chair-like sedan, enclosed with color silk was one of the main vehicles in ancient China. Of course, it was mainly used by the rich. The poor had to rely on donkeys, or their own feet to travel. So it was a status symbol to have a sedan rather than a noisy donkey. On special occasions, such as a wedding ceremony, a sedan chair was used to take the bride to the groom’s house, even for the poor. The bridal sedan chair can be divided into two categories, i.e. “big” sedan and “small” sedan. The “big” sedan is carried by four people, with a number of following deacons in charge of blowing Suona (a kind of wind instrument), beating gongs, holding lanterns, and carrying boxes of presents and so on. It’s the kind of sedan usually rented by rich people. The small sedan, on the other hand, is carried by only two people – it’s the kind mainly chosen by the poor or normal families.