Hong Kong is perched on the south-east coast of China. With its magnificent harbour, steep peaks and surrounding islands, Hong Kong is a geographically interesting city. The territory is divided into four main areas - Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories and the outlying islands. Before 1997, Hong Kong was a British colony. In 1997, Hong Kong was returned to the embrace of our motherland, China and became Special Administrative Region.

Influenced by both Chinese and western cultures, Hong Kong has its distinctive marriage customs. Marriage is joyful, holy and romantic. But the newly-weds need to observe a number of earthly customs. Many of them carry symbolic meanings.

Marriage is a milestone in one's life. No wonder that people are willing to spend much money on the wedding and pay much effort to it.

When we go to our relatives' and friends' wedding ceremonies and banquets, we are always excited to share their happiness and we give them our blessings. We are curious to know what customs the newly-weds need to follow. Of course, many customs are simplified.

For the background information, first of all, traditional marriage concepts are elaborated in this project. Marriage in the ancient times took many forms, unlike the one we commonly practice - monogamy. It is interesting to know that ancient Chinese seriously consider when and how old they get married.

We then take an insight into traditional Chinese marital customs and rites. Once popular customs Three Letters and Six Etiquette is now simplified. Then the marital customs and rites in Hong Kong will be explored.

Photos of various wedding articles are included. We also share our reflections on doing this project.

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home: more than 50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom: 1

C. Connection speed used in the classroom: dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet: 4-6

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

　There are more than 300 computers in school, mainly resided in special rooms such as the library, computer laboratories, language laboratory and D & T room, etc. There are 1 100Mbps Internet connection lines in the school which are in the Ethernet technology.

There are several problems we had to overcome. First is searching information. We chose this topic because we had a great interest in it; however, we do not know much about the customs. (of course, we do not have any experience of getting married at all!) Library books do give us some clues.

As students in a Chinese-medium school, we do not have a great mastery of English. Since bonus point will be given to multi-language project, we decided to do our project bilingually. Undoubtedly, it poses a great challenge to us. Besides, it is particularly hard for us to translate some culturally-specific terms into English. The four group members who are better at English help the script writing.

Regarding to the rendition of marital customs terms, we use the fixed translations. We found that some are literally translated, like bai tong. We are also lucky to receive help from the teachers and our friends at the editorial work. Time is also a great problem. We were told to do the project last September, which means that we got only six months to finish the website. We seized every opportunity to do the project. So, we went back to school during the Christmas and Chinese New Year holidays. Even though many members went to visit their relatives during the New Year holiday, those who are free also went to school.

Workload from school is quite heavy. We have great pressure from study. We still need to finish other homework and assignments during the holidays. Some sacrifice could not be avoided.

We hope that the completion of this web page can let people understand the distinctive customs and rites in Hong Kong.

In order to develop multiple intelligence, our school puts much emphasis on project work. Apart from doing worksheets, workbooks and other drilling exercises, we are also required to do one cross-curriculum project every year and the scores of which will be shown on our academic reports. Therefore, this project is similar to what we usually do at school. 　We learnt how to work as a team. We trust, rely on and tolerate with one other. In order to make the project successful, team spirit is very important. We also find that our interpersonal skills are improved. Apart from the knowledge we get from the textbook, we also need to acquire these social skills which are useful to us.

Our school often encourages students to speak in public so that we can be more presentable. Some students are selected as master of ceremonies in school functions and activities. When we conducted interviews, we were trained to overcome stress and nervousness in front of strangers.

We have learnt how to use digital cameras. We have also acquired skills of web page production Besides, we have learnt how to use the school's virtual drive to store pictures and share files among our team-mates.

Hardware description

(1 ) Intel Pentium IV computers (2) 100M Internet connection (3) 2 digital cameras (4) 1 digital video camera (5) 1 video editing machine

Software description

(1) Macromedia Flash 5.0 (2) Macromedia Dreamweaver 4.0 (3) Adobe Photoshop (to edit photos/ pictures) (4) Microsoft Word (to edit content) (5) FTP program (to upload Web Site)

In order to take photos, we went to a cake shop to buy bridal cards. We also went to a shop selling wedding stuff. We interviewed the shop owner and asked him for permission of taking photos.

When we did the project, one of the group members had a chance to attend the wedding banquet. So, she took a camera with her and took photos of people them. She also took photos of each dish. When the waiter put the dish on the table, people seize every opportunity to get the food. So, she found it hard to take photo of each dish.

Our parents and teachers were impressed by our efforts as we devoted our leisure time to undertake this project. We also showed our project to our fellow classmates. Fortunately they gave us positive response.

Although we are still young, we know that marriage is regarded as one of the most important things in our lives. But how much do we know about its customs and stories behind. Hence, it is worth having a better understanding of marital customs in Hong Kong. We can conclude that we are still influenced by Chinese traditional culture to a certain extent.

When doing the project, we interviewed a shop owner. Here, we would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to him as he accepted our interview and provided us with useful information.

Moreover, we would like to extend our gratitude to our supportive parents. As they have got married, they know more about the customs. They even told us many interesting taboos and Chinese superstitions.

Besides, we especially thank our Chinese and English teachers. The former helped editing whereas the latter helped with the translation of the script. Our computer teacher also provided us with technical support. They gave us valuable advice and guidelines. Of course, we would like to thank every member who has made contribution to the completion of the project.

Even though we spent a lot of time doing this project, we actually found the process enjoyable and fun. Lessons were learnt.

First of all, we learnt that teamwork is very important in undertaking the project. Sometimes, we have arguments, but overall speaking, we work cohesively.
　
Undoubtedly, taking part in this website competition definitely broadens our horizons and enrich our life experiences. So, we do not hesitate in recommending this project to others. Besides knowing more about marital customs (which we may find useful when we grow up and get married), people can share our joy, discoveries and surprises from this project.