Guangzhou brides are increasingly favouring "qipao" over Western-style wedding garments, a trend that has been attributed to locals' keener fashion sense, reports Guangzhou Daily.

The close-fitting cheongsam is often more flattering to the female Chinese figure. And tradition requires that brides wear red shoes, which rarely suit white bridal gowns.

The "qipao" is also a more practical choice because bridal gowns are almost never worn twice, but an elegant "qipao" can pass as formal wear at other festive occasions.

More than 50 of the 110 formal dress shops on Jiangnan North Road in the Haizhu District, known as "wedding garment street", are mainly selling "qipao" now.

Prices of western-style bridal gowns have dropped by almost 50 per cent compared to last year, according to Xu, a shop owner who's been in the business for more than a decade.

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