Throngs of couples say 'I do' on auspicious day
Will you marry me?
We are married!
Couples queue outside Minhang District Marriage Registration Center on Tuesday morning.
Shanghai's lovebirds flocked to marriage registration centers across the city on Tuesday, a day believed to be full of love among Chinese couples.
A total of 2,878 couples tied the knot across the city on the day, far exceeding 857 couples during this year's Valentine's Day. The normal day figure is 300 to 400 daily.
In Chinese, 2 sounds "love," making February 22, 2022, an extremely popular date to exchange vows.
Coincidentally, it falls on a Tuesday and the Chinese lunar calendar indicates it is the 22nd day of the first month of the lunar New Year, boosting its popularity even further.
Dressed in a beautiful wedding veil, Huang Li, 27, smiled while taking photos and being interviewed. She tied the knot at the Jing'an District Marriage Registration Center while holding flowers.
"Two is my favorite number," she said. "The date is also my favorite star's birthday. I posted on Weibo five years ago saying I wanted to get married on this day. My husband and I were already together at that time."
The couple tried to secure a reservation number at midnight when the reservation window opened 30 days ago.
"To our disappointment, the reservation system crashed due to the huge amount traffic. I told him (her husband) that I won't marry him if it's not on this day," Huang joked. "I was not happy."
They thought of queuing at dawn at the center if all efforts failed.
A sweet kiss at Jing'an District Marriage Registration Center.
Taking a photo to commemorate the moment.
Huang's husband, Zhou Xinyu, 32, proved his love as he stuck to the computer and kept refreshing the webpage.
Last week, his efforts were rewarded when he finally got a reservation number.
The newlyweds said they would have dinner together to celebrate.
In Hongkou District, all reservation slots for the day were snapped up immediately after the reservation window opened, officials with the district's marriage registration center said.
"We opened an extra service window to tackle surging demand," a staffer said. "We will extend service hours to ensure all couples here will tie the knot today."
The center has 13 registration staffers working today.
At the center's entrance, volunteers were busy checking couple's temperatures and health QR codes. Guidance has been stepped up to improve efficiency.
A groom arranges his shirt before getting the marriage certificate.
A couple signs their names at Minhang District Marriage Registration Center.
Show your marriage certificate.
"It is a sweet date, and number two bears the auspicious meaning 'good things come in pairs,'" said Angela Guo, who said "I do" at the center on Tuesday afternoon. "I picked this once-in-a-lifetime date two years ago, but honestly, I did not expect it to be so popular."
"We failed to secure a reservation number and tried our luck coming here," she added. "We queued for two and a half hours."
In districts such as Putuo, Jing'an and Xuhui, the number of reservations for marriage certificates on February 22 was twice that of Valentine's Day, and some had no reservation slots left for the day.
"There are too many coincidences behind the date, which makes it a favorite day among local couples," said Wu Yuexin, director of the Yangpu District Marriage Registration Center.
Getting married on an auspicious date is a long-standing tradition in Chinese culture.
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.
Registered local couples in 2020 by month
February was not a popular option for couples to get married. According to the statistics, most local couples chose to tie the knot in May, December and October in 2020.
