Chinese Graduation Proms Roll Out Red Carpet

Universities around China are ending off their academic terms by organizing proms for its graduating students. And for the past few years, a number of Chinese schools have adopted the use of a red carpet by which they can properly reward their graduates with the respect they deserve.

Beijing's own Communication University of China attracted a lot of Chinese media attention this past week when it hosted its annual prom. Similar to Beijing Film Academy, Communication University is known for its photogenic students, who are broadcasting majors instead of actors.

But they're not the only schools looking to present their students in the best possible light. Universities in Shandong, Dongbei, Chengdu, and Jiangsu have all employed a red carpet to display their finest. And although we may associate red carpets for royalty, heads of state, and celebrities, there's a good explanation for why China has taken so well to using a "scarlet corridor of adulation."

University graduation represents the end of an arduous journey for a Chinese student who has, from a young age, studied long hours and fought intense competition to get where they are. Even though the gaokao university placement exam is by far the most difficult and stressful task of a young Chinese person's life, they can't enjoy themselves yet. 

It's not until university graduation when the responsibilities of a child end, and those for an adult begin. The university prom is especially significant because it marks the official beginning for many young Chinese people's love life (though many others aren't waiting). As preferred by a typical Chinese parent, a child should focus on their studies until graduation, at which time they should switch their attention to finding a marriage partner before the age of 27.

The spectacle of a red carpet event is very appropriate for Chinese university graduates because it marks their official beginning as autonomous adults, something that is witnessed by their friends and family who watch them as they walk down this vermilion-colored rite of passage. It's different from American-styled proms which are traditionally more important as a dance to which you invite a romantic interest.

Over time, Chinese universities have also adopted many other Western customs like gowns, Oxford caps, and the act of throwing them while maintaining a few of its own, notably the zany photographs students take that signify an end to restraint and responsibility. 

Like its Western counterpart, the red carpet at Chinese university proms is a chance for admirers to see the object of their affection up close, and witness their dreams manifest right before their eyes.