China's marriage registrations climb on Qixi Festival

Marriage registrations have risen in multiple cities on Qixi Festival, also known as the Chinese Valentine's Day, which fell on Saturday this year, fresh statistics released from a number of cities have shown.

A total of 1,290 couples were registered on the Qixi Festival in Guangzhou, representing a 10.92 percent increase compared to last year's 1,163 registrations, marking a record high in the number of marriages registered in Guangzhou on the Qixi Festival, local media reported on Sunday.

In Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, there were 1,063 couples registered for marriage on Saturday, representing an uptick from 1,004 couples from last year's Qixi Festival.

Statistics revealed that a total of 1,982 couples registered for marriage in Shanghai on Qixi Festival, while the figure for the same day last year was 1,338, up nearly 700 registrations, according to the Paper, a Shanghai-based media outlet.

Harbin, the capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has seen a slight bump up of marriage registrations on the Chinese Valentine's Day. As of 3 pm Saturday, local civil affairs authorities handled a total of 586 marriage registrations, double the average daily number, a local official account said.

In a white dress and veil, a woman surnamed Song from Harbin arrived to register for marriage on the Chinese Valentine's Day, telling local media that both she and her beloved wished for a sweet and lasting married life.

A civil servant from a district in Taiyuan, North China's Shanxi Province, told local media that on Saturday the civil affairs department where she works received 110 online reservations for couples, five times more than normal weekdays.

To provide the couples with romantic memories on the day of the Qixi Festival, civil affairs authorities from around China have also organized a rich variety of celebratory activities.

Various decorations were provided at a marriage registration office in Haidian District of Beijing, including a marriage oath-taking podium and an oath wall, allowing couples to take photos to capture the special moment, a local social media account reported on Saturday.

A local media outlet reported that some districts in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province not only held ceremonies such as giving out gift bags and painting wedding fans, but also invited couples to join in activities such as reciting traditional Chinese love poems.