Lining up for a lifetime of love

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.

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.