HONG KONG  Cities across China have reported record numbers of marriages after tens of thousands of couples decided that 9/9/09 would be an auspicious date to wed.

The number nine in Mandarin, jiu, sounds the same as the word for “perpetual” and “forever.”

In Beijing on Wednesday, 18,979 couples married or received licenses, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. That figure shattered the capital’s previous daily record of more than 15,000, set by couples who chose Aug. 8 last year, 8/8/08, because eight is a lucky number in China and is pronounced ba, which sounds like the word for becoming rich. Aug. 8 also was the opening day of the Olympic Summer Games in Beijing.

Image Couples lined up at the marriage registration office in Wuhan, China, on Wednesday  that is, 09/09/09, a date many considered lucky. Credit... Zhou Chao/European Pressphoto Agency

Huge starry-eyed turnouts were reported in cities throughout China on Wednesday, Xinhua said, and it appeared likely that the day’s total would also break the national record of more than 314,000 set last Aug. 8.