Couples rush to tie the knot on 'Twosday'

Many couples were seen queuing outside the marriage registration office in Hongkou district in Shanghai on Tuesday as they believe Feb 22, 2022 to be symbolic of everlasting love.

Feb 22, 2022 also marked the 22nd day of the first month in the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese lunar calendar. As such, this date holds nine "twos". In China, "two" is pronounced as "er", which sounds similar to the Chinese word for "love". Meanwhile, "nine" is pronounced as "jiu", which sounds similar to "long".

"When we got here at 1 pm, there was already a long queue," said a resident surnamed Chen who made an appointment to be married a month ago.

"We didn't want to miss this auspicious day for marriage," Chen added.

The Shanghai Morning Post reported on Feb 8 that most of the appointment slots for marriage registration on "Twosday" at civil affairs bureaus in Shanghai were booked out earlier this month.

Service was improved to handle the surge in the number of couples looking to exchange marriage vows on this unique day. At the office in Hongkou, for example, a new service counter was opened on Tuesday and extra volunteers were roped in to help.

Xu Shuwei contributed to this story.