Couples rush to tie knot on 'I love you' day
A sweet kiss is seen in the Pudong New Area Marriage Registration Center on Saturday.
The busiest place on Saturday in Shanghai was probably marriage registration centers.
Lovebirds flocked to centers across the city to tie the knot on the day, as 520, short for May 20, sounds similar to the Chinese phrase "wo ai ni," which means "I love you."
A total of 2,097 couples completed their marriage certificates in Shanghai on Saturday, with many registration centers saying the reservation figure was 10 times that of normal days and the real figure marking a record of this year.
The Pudong New Area (369), Minhang (203) and Xuhui (181) districts had the largest number of registrations on the day, according to the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.
The figure even surpassed that of this year's Valentine's Day when 1,128 couples said "I do" at marriage registration centers across Shanghai. This was about 30 percent higher than last year and even slightly higher than that of 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
The 17 marriage registration centers in the city increased registration windows with staffers working overtime on Saturday to cope with the surging demand and ensure all visiting lovebirds tied the knot smoothly even if some failed to make a reservation, the bureau said.
A couple shows off their marriage certificates in the Pudong New Area Marriage Registration Center on Saturday.
"We failed to grab a reservation slot as all slots were fully reserved quickly," said a new husband surnamed Pan at the marriage registration center in Songjiang District.
"We were very concerned that we may miss the day to tie the knot and came to the scene to try our luck," said Pan. "We are extremely happy now after drawing the certificate."
At the Pudong New Area Marriage Registration Center, staffers increased reservation quota, opened more registration windows, arranged more volunteers and extended working hours to ensure every lovebird exchange vows smoothly.
Each couple received a rose at the center.
"We stayed till midnight to grab a slot one month ago after reservation opened to get married on this special day," said a bride surnamed Su.
The parents of the couple witnessed the whole process.
We are married!
Getting married on an auspicious date is a long-standing tradition in Chinese culture.
On February 22, 2022, a total of 2,878 couples tied the knot across the city, far exceeding the 857 couples during that year's Valentine's Day.
In Chinese, 2 sounds like "love," making February 22, 2022, an extremely popular date to exchange vows.
A total of 2,567 couples tied the knot in the city on May 20, 2020, as "May 20, 2020" sounds similar to "ai ni ai ni wo ai ni" in Chinese, or "love you, love you, I love you."
On January 4, 2013, nearly 7,300 couples in the city said "I do" because the date sounds like "forever love" in Chinese.
On another auspicious date, October 10, 2010, local authorities registered marriages of 10,150 couples, a record high. In Chinese tradition, the number 10-10-10 symbolizes perfection.
The busy scene is seen at the Pudong New Area Marriage Registration Center on Saturday.
