Monday spells love for couples

Marriage registration centers across Shanghai received a surge of lovebirds tying the knot on Monday as the date — May 20, or 520 — sounds similar to wo ai ni, or “I love you,” in Chinese.

A total of 2,697 couples said "I do" at centers across the city, even surpassing the figure of 2,273 on Valentine’s Day this year, according to Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.

The figure, including nine cross-border marriages, was about six times the normal daily average.

Centers in the Pudong New Area received the most couples — 478 — followed by Minhang (224) and Jinshan (190) districts, the bureau said.

"The date has a good meaning and blessing, thus is favored by Chinese couples," said Yu Weiting, director of the Yangpu District center. "They pick auspicious dates to say 'I do.'"

The center received 136 couples on the day, about four to five times its normal figure.

"We decided to picked the date to marry during the Spring Festival," said Shanghai resident Outaks Chen at the Huangpu District center.

The couple had been dating for 18 months. 

"I picked the date because it sounds sweet and my wife agreed immediately," he said. "It is easy to remember as well.

"We made an online reservation two weeks ago, but surprisingly found only the time between 3pm and 4pm still had a vacancy," he said. "The date is very popular as many people share the same thought."

Wu Qing, another husband at the center, said: "Compared with the traditional Valentine’s Day, this date is more special.

"My wife and I both asked for a leave from our companies today, and everything is perfect," he said. "We picked the date also because we will host our wedding banquet soon.

"We plan to celebrate the occasion with a feast tonight.”

A total of 154 couples drew their marriage certificates at the center on Monday.

In Jiading District, all 80 reservation slots were booked several days before Monday.

The Qixi Festival, known as Chinese Valentine’s Day, is another popular date for Chinese couples to marry.

A total of 1,187 couples got married in Shanghai on the festival last year, August 17.

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.

On January 4, 2013, nearly 7,300 couples said “I do” in the city. The date, 13-1-4 sounded like “forever love” in Chinese.