Minichan

BEIJING—On an overcast June day, 20 women in white gowns stood in a row on a grassy field. They had spent the morning fussing with one another's hair and makeup, and now, for the big moment, smiled into the camera.

But this was a graduation celebration, not a wedding.

Here in China, college women are spurning caps and gowns and choosing to commemorate their graduations in white tulle, instead.

"Who doesn't like wedding dresses?" said Liu Xiangping, who was among those posing for graduation shots that day, along with nearly two dozen fellow classmates clad in white. (Their four male classmates wore suits.)