Romantic date sees couples across the country flock to tie the knot

Let Jan 4 go down in history as the sweetest day of all.

In Chinese, the date 2013-1-4 has a similar pronunciation to "love you for a lifetime", making it one of the most auspicious and romantic days to tie the knot.

Waiting to tie the knot on Friday, Jan 4, 2013, a date that has a similar pronunciation to "love you for a lifetime", is tiring for couples at the Haidian District Marriage Registration Office in Beijing. Below: Ecstasy overwhelms newlyweds the moment they get the certificate, as seen at Dongjiang District Marriage Registration Office in Neijiang, Sichuan province. [Liu Zhen/China News Service]

The day saw more than 12,000 weddings in Beijing, 7,300 in Shanghai, 3,000 marriage reservations in Chongqing, and Wuhan in Hubei province had 3,500 couples booking slots to get married, an all-time high in the city of 10 million residents.

Auspicious dates are almost always popular with Chinese, who prefer days with special meanings or that sound similar to "perfect happiness" and "everlasting love", according to Lin Kewu, a spokesman for the marriage registration office under Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.

On Sept 9, 2009, more than 15,000 couples got married in Beijing. The triple 12 date, Dec 12, 2012, also saw a surge in marriage registration in Beijing and Shanghai.

Determined to be one of the lucky ones, Beijing-based video maker Zhang Ying had applied to marry on the day weeks ago and stood in line on the eve of Jan 4 to guarantee his entry.

Before the midnight clock chimed, there were more than 600 standing in line at Beijing's Haidian Marriage Registration Office, all in cold-defying outfits.

The couple was able to marry at 5:30 in the morning.

"To see the stamp on the date, all the efforts to come out in this freezing weather were worthwhile!" Zhang said.

Hao Shide, a staff member with the Haidian District Marriage Registration Office in Beijing, made more than 200 stamps and said more than 200 "Congratulations to you two!" on Jan 4. He began his shift at 5 am with 14 colleagues, four hours before the usual office time, and skipped all breaks. On an average day, the whole office would manage 200 registrations.

Hao's hard work was rewarded by a crate of wedding candies by his desk, sweet gifts from the happy couples who just tied the knot.

Pan Juanjuan, 28, and Chen Wei, 29, who have been together for five years, said they specially chose the date and waited months for it. "It's our solemn commitment. It's a matter of a lifetime."

In Shanghai, many young couples waited in front of the marriage registration offices from as early as 2 am on one of the coldest days in the city this winter. Some couples hugged to keep warm, and joked that "cold and slow" sounded the same as "romantic" in Shanghai dialect.

At the marriage registration office of Changning district, quite a few parents were found standing in line for their children who failed to make online reservations ahead of time, as the quota was quickly filled.

"I'm lining up for my daughter," an elderly man with a nose made red from the cold told Xinmin Evening News. "I rise early for exercise anyway. We are growing old, and ready to do whatever possible for the happiness of our children," he said.

Tian'ai Road in Hongkou district of Shanghai attracted many lovers on this special day too, as the street name literally means "sweet love". Many waited in front of the post office there for postcards marked with "20131400".

On such special days, roses are more expensive, lovebirds are photogenic, sugar is scattered everywhere.

But the first message between lovebirds after they officially tie the knots is the always romantic words "I love you".

Contact the writers at sunye@chinadaily.com.cn and zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn