Extravagant Jewellery Display at Private Tea Ceremony
Chinese supermodel Ming Xi captured public attention after sharing photographs from her traditional wedding tea ceremony on Instagram, according to 8days. The 37-year-old model, married to Mario Ho—the son of the late casino magnate Stanley Ho—wore a total of 22 giant dragon-and-phoenix gold bangles. Eighteen of the massive pieces hung around her neck in a formation that social media users dubbed a “golden collar,” while two additional bangles were worn on each of her wrists.
Netizens estimate the collective value of the heavy gold hardware to be close to 3 million yuan, equivalent to roughly S$573,000, though the exact financial figure has not been officially disclosed. According to 8days, the bangles were gifted to Ming by her mother-in-law, Angela Leong, who is Stanley Ho’s fourth wife. In addition to the bangles, Leong reportedly passed down heirloom pieces carrying high sentimental value, including an antique hairpin and an Australian South Sea pearl necklace originally given to Leong by Stanley Ho.
The Wedding Attire and Multi-Part Celebration
Complementing the heavy jewellery, Ming wore an elaborate silver-white traditional kwa. 8days reported that the garment required approximately 3,600 hours of hand-crafting and featured intricate layers of flowers alongside auspicious dragon, phoenix, and lotus motifs.
The private tea ceremony took place on September 28. The gathering coincided with a wedding appreciation banquet held in Macau to celebrate with relatives and friends who could not attend the couple’s earlier wedding ceremony at Mont-Saint-Michel in France in June. Ming and Mario officially registered their marriage in 2019, but postponed subsequent celebrations due to family matters. The couple shares two children: a six-year-old son named Ronaldo and a four-year-old daughter named Romee.