BEIJING; Tens of thousands of Chinese rushed to get married today, hoping that the 09/09/09 date would bring longevity to their weddings and lives.

Besides meaning “nine, nine”, “jiu, jiu” in Chinese also means “for a long time,” making Wednesday an auspicious day to get married. The fact that another nine is added for 2009 has only made the day luckier in the world’s most populous nation, state media asserted. In Beijing alone, 18,979 couples queued, beating the previous one-day record of 15,646 set on August 8, 2008, Xinhua news agency reported.