Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Hundreds celebrate annual Twins Festival in Beijing

Hundreds of Chinese twins, triplets and quadruplets dressed in matching outfits celebrated their rare brother-and-sisterhood over the weekend in a country where most people grew up as the only child in the family.

In a bustling park decorated with gigantic red lanterns, the Beijing Eighth Annual Twins Festival featured a parade as well as music and dance performances. At least 500 pairs of twins attended the event on the second day of China's week-long National Day holidays.


YouTube link.

With a few exceptions, giving birth to a second child costs urban families a hefty fine from the Chinese government. Many Chinese people believe that multiple births are a great blessing because parents can enjoy more companionship and care in their old age.

Under China's one-child policy, each urban family can only have one child unless both parents are single children. Exceptions are also made to rural families and ethnic minorities.

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