This past weekend saw many local marriage registries dispense with their day off to open as normal. For couples looking to quickly take advantage of the auspicious date, Nanjing fortunately had in place a self-service terminal capable of producing a marriage certificate in just 4 minutes.
Yesterday was a big day for tying the knot. This year, and this year alone, 14 March is regarded as a good day by many young people for marriage. And that’s thanks to the homophonic sound of the numbers, 2021314, that can be interpreted as, “Love you, love forever”.
Traditional manual marriage registration procedures in China are complicated. On days such as Valentine’s Day, the result is long wait times for those wishing to register a marriage. To address this inconvenience for new couples, Nanjing’s Jianye District Marriage Registry has installed a new self-service terminal.
The device incorporates the procedures of preliminary review, acceptance, review and registration; a convenient option for those tying the knot. A marriage registration can be completed within 3 minutes, and in 4 minutes couples may have their marriage certificate.
While it can help to prevent fraudulent registration, the terminal can also reissue marriage or divorce certificates, reports The Paper. And that’s not all. The booth can in addition take passport/ID photos and has a photocopying function. A certificate-issuance appointment system further enriches the device’s functions.
Away from the self-service terminal, Nanjing was not alone in opening a district marriage registry yesterday. Xinji City in Hebei Province, Ma’anshan City in Anhui Province, Zhengzhou City in Henan Province and Panjin City in Liaoning Province were among those also handling marriage registrations.
Xinhua News commented on the phenomenon of working overtime on days with auspicious dates. The opening of relevant offices on dates such as Chinese Valentines Day, 20 May and 9 September is a manifestation of serving the people, proclaimed the agency.
Turns out the people agree. Many netizens welcomed the move, with one saying, “These local governments are really much more humane, and they do serve the people”. Somewhat bizarrely, another even said, “Go to make an appointment immediately”.
Back here in Nanjing, the new terminal spent yesterday busily churning out marriage certificates. Doing it faster than many a home-pregnancy kit can produce a result, it’s little wonder the device already has a nickname. Say hello (and thanks for saving us from the embarrassment) to the “Shotgun Marriage Machine”.
