CHINA> Post-quake Life
Quake survivors pursuing happiness in new marriage
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-27 08:13

Like many other who lost their family members, Tang was reluctant to think of the past.

"I was afraid to stay alone, and I kept myself busy so that I would be exhausted and fall asleep," said Tang, deputy head of Leigu Town.

"I even thought that my life would be ending that way," said the 51-year-old man, "till I was introduced to Zhang Li by my family members."

According to the Qiang custom, new couples should sing love ballads at the wedding ceremony, and shelled corns and millets will be spread on the crowds, which is believed to bring fortune to the new couples.

Quake survivors pursuing happiness in new marriage
Bride Zhang Li and bridegroom Tang Jiyao drink at the Jina Qiang Ethnic Minority Village of Beichuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 26, 2009. Twenty new couples held group wedding here on Sunday. [Xinhua]
Bridegroom Yang Changbin pulled his wife Zhou Xiaohong out of the crowd, and found her a seat.

"I was a cab driver, and now stay at home and take care of Zhou. She was hurt in the waist in the quake," said Yang.

"I will return to work as she turns better, and she will start a small business like a canteen."

Leaning her head on Yang's shoulder, Zhou said: "We plan to have a baby, so we can have a real home."

Yang's face beamed with broad smile. "Today is the most important day for me after the quake, also a happy start in the rest of my life."