BEICHUAN, Sichuan, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Bride Deng
Ling supported a sapling upright while her sweetheart Li Jun bowed to spade
earth into the pit carefully, expecting happiness in their coming marriage life.
With tears running down her face, 38-year-old Deng
made a wish: "We plant the sapling and hope it will bring fruit and happiness to
us."
Twenty new couples attend a group
wedding at the Jina Qiang Ethnic Minority Village of Beichuan County,
southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 26, 2009. (Xinhua/Jiang
Hongjing)
Photo
Gallery
Deng
and Li were among the 40 people who lost their spouses in the May 12 earthquake
last year. They tied the knot at a group wedding on Sunday in the worst hit
Beichuan County in China's southwestern Sichuan Province.
The wedding service, funded by the local government,
was held in accordance with the folk customs of the Qiang ethnic group in
Beichuan. The county lost two-thirds of its population in the quake.
Bride Zhang Li and bridegroom Tang Jiyao
drink at the Jina Qiang Ethnic Minority Village of Beichuan County,
southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 26, 2009. Twenty new couples
held group wedding here on Sunday. (Xinhua/He Junchang)
Photo Gallery
The magnitude-8.0 quake hit southwest China,
including most parts of Sichuan, and killed more than 69,000 people. It also
left nearly 18,000 missing, more than 374,000 injured and millions homeless.
On Sunday, the 20 couples planted 20 trees at the
wedding ceremony to appreciate the caring from others and expect happiness in
their own life, according to the wedding organizer.
A gun salute was included in the ceremony to express
the Qiang people's hospitality and their blessings to the new couples, said Chen
Xingchun, Communist Party chief of Beichuan, the country's only Qiang autonomous
county.
Twenty new couples parade as they hold
group wedding at the Jina Qiang Ethnic Minority Village of Beichuan
County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 26, 2009. Twenty new
couples held group wedding here on Sunday. (Xinhua/Jiang
Hongjing)
Photo
Gallery
Tang Jirao, another bridegroom, held fast to the
hands of Zhang Li, his bride, in the 30-minute wedding ceremony.
"It's a bit cold today, and his hands are warm,"
Zhang explained with a shy smile.
Having lost his wife in the earthquake, Tang was
introduced to Zhang Li, a primary school teacher, in October 2008.
At the first sight of Tang, Zhang found her liked the
man.
A new couple is surrounded by
journalists at the Jina Qiang Ethnic Minority Village of Beichuan County,
southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 26, 2009. Twenty new couples
held group wedding here on Sunday. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)
Photo
Gallery
"He
gave me the feeling that he was reliable, though he spoke little," said Zhang.
Like many other who lost their family members, Tang
was reluctant to think of the past.
"I was afraid to stay alone, and I kept myself busy
so that I would be exhausted and fall asleep," said Tang, deputy head of Leigu
Town.
Bridegroom Tang Zhiguo (R) and his bride
walk to attend wedding at the Jina Qiang Ethnic Minority Village of
Beichuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 26, 2009.
Twenty new couples held group wedding here on Sunday. (Xinhua/He
Junchang)
Photo
Gallery
"I even thought that my life would be ending that
way," said the 51-year-old man, "till I was introduced to Zhang Li by my family
members."
According to the Qiang custom, new couples should
sing love ballads at the wedding ceremony, and shelled corns and millets will be
spread on the crowds, which is believed to bring fortune to the new couples.
Bridegroom Yang Changbin pulled his wife Zhou
Xiaohong out of the crowd, and found her a seat.
"I was a cab driver, and now stay at home and take
care of Zhou. She was hurt in the waist in the quake," said Yang.
"I will return to work as she turns better, and she
will start a small business like a canteen."
Leaning her head on Yang's shoulder, Zhou said: "We
plan to have a baby, so we can have a real home."
Yang's face beamed with broad smile. "Today is the
most important day for me after the quake, also a happy start in the rest of my
life."
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