China sets Olympics record in weddings

9,000 Couples to Marry on Lucky 080808

The new couple (Front) hold a special wedding ceremony to promote environment-friendly and economical wedding, in Huai'an, east China's Jiangsu Province, Aug. 8, 2008, the opening day of the Beijing Olympic Games. (Xinhua/Xu Changzheng)

A couple wave on tricycle during their wedding ceremony, to promot the environment-friendly and economical wedding, in Huai'an, east China's Jiangsu Province, Aug. 8, 2008, the opening day of the Beijing Olympic Games. (Xinhua/ Xu Changzheng)

Here's one Olympics competition where China definitely set a record: at least 314,224 couples tied the knot across the nation on Friday, or 08/08/08, the opening day of the 29th Olympic Games, official statistics showed.

As expected, that was a one-day record for marriages since 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Saturday.

Although there's no previous national figure available, so many cities set records that the countrywide tally is considered to be the record. In Beijing alone, the host city of the Olympics, 15,646 couples were married, 23 times the daily average.

The previous one-day record for marriages in the capital was 4,452 on Dec. 18, 2006, which had one eight in it by the Western calendar. Under the lunar calendar, it was Oct. 28, which had two eights.

On Aug. 8 last year, 3,390 couples were married in Beijing, making it the second most popular date after Dec. 18.

Major Chinese cities saw a surge of applications to wed on Friday, either for the triple-eight symbolism or to catch an "Olympic wedding".

The number eight symbolizes wealth, fortune and luck for Chinese. Many choose dates with the number to start a business, marry, deliver babies or undertake some other significant step. People also pay extra to have it in phone numbers or vehicle license plates.

Local civil affairs authorities said that 6,418 couples were married in Shanghai on Friday and 4,841 in Wuhan. Figures for other cities were not immediately available.

The ministry held a special meeting on Tuesday asking local authorities to increase staff, use volunteers, work longer hours and open more offices to cope with the surge.

Some registration offices in Beijing and Tianjin worked around the clock to meet demand.

The Chaoyang District office in eastern Beijing registered a couple shortly after it opened for business at midnight. Source: Xinhua

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7467015.stm

Chinese Man Pierced 2008 Times

China has been buzzing with anticipation for the 2008 Olympics this summer.

From putting up sexy Olympic street lights to naming 3,500 babies after the event, you can definitely feel the pride and excitement for thes Olympic Games.

Wei, a 60 year-old Chinese acupuncturist from Guangxi province, showed his patriotism for the upcoming Olympics by piercing his head, face, chest, and arms with 2008 decorative needles in five different colors.

The event broke his previous Guinness Record of 1790 needles set in 2004. Wei also hopes to share more about the history of acupuncture to the world.

Initially inspired after reading about a Canadian who had set a record for inserting 420 needles in his arm, Wei felt that it was “not much compared to our centuries-old acupuncture,” and began experimenting with piercing his own body with needles.

On January 13, 2007, Wei had also paraded through town with 800 needles in his forehead and even put on skates and skated around the streets to show he was not in pain and alright. (http://whazzup-malao.blogspot.com/2008/08/chinese-acupuncturist-skates-with-800.html)

“I shook with fear when I saw his hedgehog-head. It seemed like he must be hurting himself.” said a lady in her sixties.

Chinese Acupuncturist Skates with 800 Needles in His Head

A Chinese acupuncturist paraded in front of onlookers in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality with more than 800 acupuncture needles in his forehead during a self-acupuncture performance on Tuesday, a local newspaper reported.

Passersby couldn't help crying out when Wei Shengchu, a 60-year-old acupuncturist and cosmetic surgeon from southwestern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, appeared in downtown Jiefangbei street on Tuesday afternoon, reported the Chongqing Morning Post.

"I shook with fear when I saw his hedgehog-head. It seemed like he must be hurting himself." said a lady in her sixties.

Some people thought the needles could do harm to the body and thought it was a fake performance.

Wei invited onlookers to experience inserting the needles themselves. Donning a pair of skates, he skated around the street to prove he was quite OK with the acupuncture.

"Inserting the needles is quite enjoyable for me. Whether I'm working or taking a rest, I often insert needles into my head. It is really comfortable", said Wei.

It takes Wei several hours to insert 800 needles into his head and face.

Wei said he plans to insert 2,008 needles into his head in 2008in Beijing when the city hosts the 2008 Olympics. He said has already booked a hotel room for this purpose well over a year in advance.

Wei's passion for self-acupuncture stems from a 2002 newspaper clipping which reported that a Canadian had a Guinness World Record for inserting 420 needles into his arms.

"It's not much compared to our centuries-old acupuncture," thought Wei, who began experimenting with inserting needles into his body.

Wei finally achieved his Guinness World Record for self-acupuncture when he inserted 1,790 needles into his face in 2004.

Acupuncture is part of traditional Chinese medicine with a history of over 2,000 years. It involves insertion of fine metallic needles on the body to relieve pain and cure diseases.


http://www.china.org.cn/english/health/195965.htm
(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2007)