Liu had experienced two arranged marriages and become the mother of four children and grandmother of more than a dozen. Her second and third husbands had both died.

Eager as he was to reunite with Liu, Wang was hesitant. He was worried whether Liu's children and grandchildren would accept him.

But his worry soon disappeared when Liu sent him the hundreds of letters and poems they had exchanged during their early years.

Liu had preserved them through the decades despite the vicissitudes of the times.

Liu also attached her children's greetings and well wishes to the mail.

They resumed correspondence for another three years, and by the time they finally met again in 1984, they had exchanged more than 230 letters, over 300 poems, and 3 million words.

Including those Wang had written during the decades of separation, there are more than 5 million words of love.

Romantic as it seemed, when the couple reunited after 36 years of separation, they didn't say a word - but hugged each other and cried.

"We said goodbye when we were young and reunited when our hair was gray," Wang said. "You cannot imagine how we felt."

Soon after his return, the local government helped arrange a job and new apartment for Wang.

Life has since become peacefully happy, and the couple is keen on helping other couples separated by the Taiwan Straits.

In their spare time, they still write poems for each other, and from time to time go through the 5 million words in their letters and poems.

Publishers have even approached them about publishing their love letters, and playwrights are also showing interest in transferring their love story onto the screen.

"Life is beautiful as long as we stay together," Wang said.

Wang Feng contributed to the story.