Tens of thousands of Chinese are rushing to get married Friday, as China marks the official start of the Olympic Games.
China's official Xinhua news agency says over 16,000 couples in the capital, Beijing, have applied to get married Friday.
Anofficial in one Beijing district Chongwen tells VOA that while hisoffice usually registers 20 to 30 marriages a day, it is expected tohandle more than 600 Friday.
Xinhua says other cities across China have also seen a surge in marriages Friday, an auspicious day for Chinese.
TheOpening Ceremony for the Games falls on the eighth day of the eighthmonth of 2008. The number eight is a lucky number in China because itsounds like the word for "prosperity" or "wealth" in Chinese.