A woman in Anhui Province agreed to be carried to her wedding on a water buffalo, apparently after her husband-to-be was inspired by an ancient Chinese legend.
Pictures of the happy couple and the beast of burden appeared on Baidu, drawing comments of admiration from Internet users.
The love story of the poor cow herder Niu Lang and the Heavenly Weaver Maiden, who creates rainbows, is well known in traditional Chinese culture.
Niu Lang saw nine heavenly maidens descend to bathe in a river, and was captivated by the beauty of the youngest woman. One of his cows told him she was the Heavenly Weaver Maiden, and she would be unable to leave if he hid her dress.
Niu Lang asked her to marry him, and she agreed. However, when the Heavenly King saw that his daughter had married a human, he sent an army to bring her back.
In recognition of their eternal love, the couple were allowed to meet for one evening each year, when the maiden would be carried across a rainbow on the back of a cow.
One netizen joked about the wedding photos on Baidu: “Much better than a BMW!” (In chinese, BMW is translated as precious horse).
Several others said, “Very NIU!” which means cow, as well as being brave.
Another wrote: “Riding an elephant would be more NIU, but where can you find an elephant, not even in the zoo!”
Research by Sophia Fang.
