Local residents walk next to the traditional Chinese wedding procession of Rebecca Kanthor of the U.S. and Liu Jian of China in Dong'an at the central province of Henan, February 9, 2011. Kanthor, a freelance journalist, moved from New York State to China eight years ago, where she met Liu, a young musician from the central Chinese province of Henan. After several years together they decided to get married in a traditional rural wedding. In the ceremony, the groom arrives on a horse while his bride is carried around the town by four men, announcing the marriage. Liu is the first person from Dong'an to marry a foreigner. Beyond headlines about climate change and trade relations, Kanthor and Liu's union is symbolic of the growing cultural integration between China and the United States. Since the 1972 visit to China by U.S. President Richard Nixon, the two countries have developed what is arguably the most important relationship among major powers with huge economic implications. Now, three decades in, the United States and China have settled into what some describe as a "mature marriage," bound together by mutual interests and mutual respect. Picture taken on February 9, 2011. REUTERS/Carlos Barria (CHINA - Tags: SOCIETY)