Tying the knot bridges differences

Liaoning province native Hu Wenshu and her husband, American Eric Lerdal, hold the same view of cultural differences - that those differences are a mirage in marriage.

Lerdal, 40, said the manner in which they began their courtship at a university in Hebei's provincial capital, Shijiazhuang, in 2002 was typical of any college sweethearts in the United States.

"We just spent a lot of time together and started discovering common interests," Lerdal said.