Qixi sees marriage registration boom

While some turned to romantic meals, special wines, flowers and chocolates to celebrate love, other couples chose to tie the knot yesterday, Qixi Festival, also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day.

A total of 1,004 couples had registered their marriages at Shenzhen’s registries by 6 p.m. yesterday, compared to 559 on the same day last year, according to the municipal civil affairs bureau.

Couples kiss during an event at the Happy Valley theme park celebrating Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentine’s Day, yesterday. The festival, also known as the Double Seventh Festival or Qiqiao Festival, is the most romantic of all traditional Chinese holidays. It’s an important occasion for lovers to express their affection for and commitment to each other. Photos by Sun Yuchen

Every year, Qixi Festival and Valentine’s Day witness a peak in marriage registrations as the two specific dates are favored by lovebirds in hopes of being blessed with good luck after marriage.

At marriage registries across the city, couples were seen lining up, eagerly waiting for their turn, while those who had obtained marriage certificates basked in romance and enjoyed sweet or cute couple poses to record the memorable occasion in photos or videos.

“Qixi is a special day for us and this year, it marked the second anniversary of us being together,” a man surnamed Liu told Shenzhen Daily at the marriage registration office in Futian District.

A couple at an event celebrating the Qixi Festival in Nanshan District yesterday.

According to Liu’s wife, surnamed Zhang, they had done some research online in advance on how to secure a marriage registration appointment and how to take beautiful photos at the marriage registry.

“We made the appointment as early as we could and we were the first couple to get the marriage certificate today,” Zhang said.

A couple celebrates the Qixi Festival in Nanshan District yesterday.

Another bride surnamed Yan revealed that they had reserved their appointment about 15 days in advance. “We took the time to practice the booking process before securing the appointment. On the day of booking, we woke up extra early and skillfully finalized the appointment.”

In contrast, one couple, a bride surnamed Xiao and a groom surnamed Chen, missed the online reservation and arrived directly at the Futian marriage registry as early as 6 a.m. yesterday morning.

“We were pretty lucky that we became the first couple to receive a marriage certificate here without an online reservation,” Xiao said with a happy smile.

Flowers are prepared to celebrate the Qixi Festival.

Florists, deliverymen and catering businesses also braced for a busy day on Qixi Festival. A florist at Xiangmihu Flower Wonderland in Futian said that he received dozens of orders in the morning alone.

Qixi Festival, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month on the Chinese lunar calendar, is a special Chinese festival dedicated to love. It celebrates the annual rendezvous between the mythological figures of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.