A growing number of young people in Guangzhou are tying the knot with their partners on Valentine's Day, thus making good use of the Western tradition, as shown by the number of couple registering their marriage on that day.
 
About 50 couples in Yuexiu District have already made appointments in advance with the district's marriage registration office to get legally bound on February 14, while the number of appointments currently at the registration office in Liwan District is 49.

"We can handle as many as 60 couples a day, so it is better for other couples to call us and make an appointment earlier if they want to marry on that day," a staff member of the Liwan marriage registration office was quoted by the Yangcheng Evening News' Web site as saying Tuesday.

Normally, people don't have to book appointments in advance. However, Valentine's Day in recent years has been a popular day for marriage registration, hence requiring prior appointments, a lady surnamed Liu with the marriage registration in Yuexiu District said.

In contrast, the marriage registration offices at the district level in Guangzhou all saw few couples Sunday, the first working day in the Year of the Dog, which is deemed suitable for marriage according to traditional Chinese custom.

In Liwan, only 16 couples came to register Sunday while the Yuexiu District recorded 35 couples, less than half the number it handles in normal working days, the Web site reported.

It was estimated that less than 100 couples tied the knot Sunday in Guangzhou, the Web site reported.

(Shenzhen Daily February 9, 2006)