Day to remember as couples tie the knot

Lovebirds across China and beyond rushed to tie the knot on Wednesday - 12/12/12 - seeking an extra dose of luck on the last symmetrical date for nearly 100 years.

Bumper numbers were reported at registry offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, causing lengthy lines and extra stress for staff members.

A college student (center left) courts his girlfriend with the help of his classmates in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, on Wednesday. The date 12/12/12 is interpreted by many as a once-per-century day for courtship. [Photo by MENG DELONG / FOR CHINA DAILY]

"We got here at about 10 in the morning and were No 960 on the list," said Fan Zhijuan, as she waited with her fiance at the office in Beijing's Haidian district.

After more than three hours, they still had over 100 couples ahead of them.

An added attraction was that the date when said in Chinese sounds like "will love, will love, will love".

Fan, however, said she had chosen the special day for practical as well as romantic reasons. "It's an easy anniversary date to remember". Two of her college friends also decided to tie the knot.

"After we're done, we're going to a restaurant to celebrate," she said.

Outside the Haidian office, Yuan Bo and Gao Qiong posed in the snow as a passerby took a snapshot of them with their newly stamped marriage certificate.

"We're so lucky - we even got registered at 12 am. It was a coincidence," said Yuan, 28, an IT worker.

The couple, who had been together since high school in East China's Anhui province, said they were going shopping for jewelry later.

For Zhu Yanyan in Shanghai, the date she chose to wed her fiance could not have had more meaning: Not only had the couple been together for 12 years, but she said her English name is Twelve.

"We also wanted to get married before Dec 21, which, as legend has it, will be the end of the world," the 30-year-old joked.