A couple cannot help themselves after being granted the marriage certificates at Futian District Civil Affairs Bureau yesterday.
A long queue at the entrance to the registry office at Futian District Civil Affairs Bureau yesterday. Wei Jiancheng
WHEN bride Zhuang Ling and her bridegroom Zheng went to the marriage registry office in Futian District shortly after midnight yesterday, they could not believe their eyes. Another couple was waiting at the door to register on the auspicious day, when three 9s (9/9/09) come together symbolizing eternity.
They were among the couples who set a record for the number of registrations on one day.
By 5:30 p.m. yesterday, the city’s registry offices had issued 2,426 marriage certificates, sources from the Shenzhen Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau said.
This number doubled the record of 1,156 couples set Aug. 8, 2008, another auspicious day, which indicated good fortune.
“We were not the earliest. There was a couple waiting in front of us,” Zhuang told reporters yesterday.
The rush started between 2 and 3 a.m. yesterday in other offices in Luohu and Nanshan, forcing the registry offices to open their doors at around 7:30 a.m., almost two hours earlier than usual.
By 9 a.m., a long queue had formed outside the waiting hall. Almost half were those who had failed to register applications online, although the office had increased its quota to full capacity for 200 couples.
Couples who had reserved online were able to get their marriage certificates in about two minutes because their applications had been reviewed before hand.
“I have never seen so many people coming to register, although we stayed up all night to prepare for this,” Pan Xiaomin, a Futian office employee, said.
To prepare for the rush, the office seconded 20 people from other departments and employed four police officers and eight security guards to keep order. The office also invited 15 volunteers to help deliver registration forms and take photos of the applicants.
“Although triple 9 day is indeed a good day to get married, we were hoping couples would be more rational and avoid a rush (by registering on another day),” said Pan, adding they would work until the last couple left. More than 500 couples were registered at the Futian office.
Luohu District Marriage Registry Office staggered times to avoid a rush and maintain efficiency with online applicants served first.
During normal service hours yesterday, the office processed registrations for those who had applied online. Those who hadn’t applied online and arrived in person were processed between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. or after normal service hours.
“By 11 a.m., we had finished registering 180 online applicants and another 71 couples who came early,” said office director Li Huanyuan.
Li said more than 50 couples were waiting outside the office before 7 a.m. when the office opened.
Wen Jiahua and Li Yuqing, a couple wearing his-and-hers outfits, posed for pictures in the office after receiving their certificates.
“We are very excited to have received our certificates on such a lucky day,” Wen and Li said, speaking as one.
Some couples were accompanied by their families. “Today is an auspicious day and I’m very happy to see my son get married,” a man called Zhang told reporters.
The 500 couples registered in Nanshan had doubled last year’s August figure by 4 p.m. yesterday, compared with the number in the rush of Aug. 8, 2008.
Chen Weidong, office director, said registration process was orderly this year after they learned a lesson last year.
“We had informed the applicants to come at different times through text messages, phone calls and a Web site notice in advance,” said Chen.
Across the country, major cities also saw a surge in applications to wed yesterday. In Guangzhou alone, more than 6,000 couples registered on the day, setting a one-day record for registrations since 1949.
In Qingdao, a total of 3,086 couples obtained their marriage certificates, 16 times more than the daily average and surpassed that of 2,973 recorded Aug. 8 last year.
But sociologists have warned young people against blindly following the trend, as “rushed marriages” have led to “rushed divorces” in some cities.
Han Ximin, Peng Qiwen, Zeng Yanjun