Some 2,000 couples registered their marriage Monday in the east China city of Shanghai, according to statistics, and there is an estimated 30,000 couples to hold their weddings during the seven-day holiday period.

In Nanjing, capital of eastern Jiangsu Province, there are possibly 15,000 couples holding wedding ceremonies during the present May Day holidays. A collective wedding for 100 couples were held at the Great Wall site at the outskirtan Juyongguan in the Beijing area.

The seven-day holiday week from May 1 to May 7 has become a great opportunity for the lovers to have their weddings, especially in this year, as there are two"springs" in this lunar year of dog on the lunar calendar, which is believed to give people luck for their marriages.

Moreover, the long holiday period gives the newly-wed couples enough time to meet or visit their relatives, friends and all those near and dear to them, and to hold a wedding ceremony full of love and affections.

A couple from the southwestern Fangshan District of the national capital Beijing rented two light aircraft to spread rose leaves in the air, with an eight-horse caravan walking around a lake.

The popular trend for young people to get married during the national holidays has provided huge business opportunities for wedding service companies and a great demand of the relevant products, such as household appliances, jewelries and fresh flowers.

A man surnamed Huang, who is in charge of the Yuanlai wedding service company in Shanghai, said his firm will prepare the wedding ceremonies of 30 couples altogether during the holiday week.

Huang estimated the turnover of his company during the May Day holidays to be at least double that for a usual week.

In Beijing, many bazaars has began promoting wedding-related products weeks ahead of the Golden Week Holiday with an overflowing advertisement and a much larger discount commitment.

Meanwhile, the price for a wedding dinner has risen by 15 to 20percent in Nanjing, and the price for a wedding host increased anywhere from 30 to 50 percent over 2005. And some popular weddinghosts have to be contacted and arranged one or two months ahead ofthe wedding day.

A girl surnamed Zhang and her boyfriend decided to have their wedding on May 7 in Shanghai and she had ordered a five-star hotel(the most luxury one in China) in Sept. last year. She said her wedding will cost approximately 149,500 yuan(about 18,700 U.S. dollars), including 80,000 yuan(some 10,000 dollars) for the lavish wedding dinner.

Although China witnessed a growing divorce rate over recent years, many Chinese still attach great importance to their weddingceremonies, one of the most memorable events in their lives, and would like to pay a remarkable amount of money on it.

"I hope all my families can share with me my wedding mood and wish me an everlasting marriage," said Zhao Yi, an editor for a major Beijing press.

She invited all family members of her boyfriend and herself andheld a grand wedding ceremony in Qingdao, a coastal, scenic city in Shandong Province, east China, on the first day of the holiday week. The young couple spent more than 130,000 yuan(some 16,250 dollars) on the wedding, nearly their total income of a year.

"I consider it worthwhile, since I want my marriage to be the only one in my entire life," said Zhao. Enditem