Many unhappy returns blight love's big day

Auspicious numbers are no guide or guarantee to lasting love, as some couples have found out very quickly.

Several marriages have already floundered after tying the knot on Jan 4, believed to have been the most auspicious and romantic day in 10,000 years on which to tie the knot.

The date, if translated into Cantonese sounds similar to the phrase "lifelong love", saw long queues outside the civil affairs offices in many Chinese cities waiting to register marriages.