Merkel blesses Chinese couple married at South Pole  

北京青年南极结婚全程网络直播 默克尔送祝福(图)

A young Chinese couple, Zhang Xinyu and Liang Hong, held their wedding ceremony at the South Pole on Tuesday. (Photo source: Beijing Morning Post)

Zhang proposed to Liang in the Arctic in January, 2013. (Photo source: Beijing Morning Post)

(ECNS) -- A young Chinese couple who held their wedding ceremony at the South Pole on Tuesday has received best wishes from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Beijing Morning Post reported.

The wedding ceremony was broadcast live via Internet on Tuesday night.

Zhang Xinyu and Liang Hong started their romantic adventure from Shanghai in July 2013. The couple got registered in Las Vegas on Oct 15 before embarking on a tour that took them through more than 30 cities in 24 countries.

People around the world, including politicians in Germany, Poland, Ghana and Sweden, have sent their best wishes to the couple.

Merkel cited a line from the classic French novella "The Little Prince," saying "Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction."

To realize their dream of holding the ceremony at the South Pole, the couple spent four years learning about foreign cultures and bought a sailboat suitable for long voyages.

Zhang proposed to Liang at Oymyakon, a remote and extremely cold location in Siberia.

They had known each other for nearly 30 years, having been schoolmates since primary school.