CRI听力:Young couples prefer long-lasting presents for Valentine's Day

The choice of presents on Valentine's Day has become a top issue for couples in love. But how romantic are Chinese people?

At 9 am in the civil affairs bureau of Haidian District, couples are waiting in lines to take the oath and get their marriage registration certificate.

Holding the certificate, a Valentine's gift to each other, a newly registered couple could hardly hold back their excitement.

"I think today is a very special day, and you know every year young people are keen to celebrate Valentine's Day. We have been together for a long time, we has also wanted to choose a lucky day to get marriage registration. So today is the day! In 2017, we'll walk together, and I love her forever," the man said

His wife echoed by saying "We want to celebrate with best fiends until tomorrow morning. The gift I want the most is, hope we can have a baby soon."

Pairs of couples taking oath at the Haidian District marriage registration office on Feb 14th, 2017. [Photo provided by Haidian District marriage registration office]

Haidian District marriage registration office Director Li Lie says February 14th has become a traditional peak day for couples to get married.

As the number of reservations indicates, this year around 400 pairs of couples are expected to tie the knot at their office, demonstrating a 2-and-a-half fold increase compared to the regular daily registration figures.

Li says that to ensure that every couple can receive a marriage certificate on this special day, the office has carried out several measures for efficient services.

"We started work one hour earlier and canceled the lunch break for today's situation. There are no fixed working hours today, we only get off work when all the couples' registrations have been done. In order to improve efficiency, we have opened extra business windows, up to 12. Also, we sent messages in advance to those who registered, informing them of the changes in office hours, the process of picking up a number for the service, moreover, reminding them to bring ID copies and photos to save more time."

He said the office also holds a collective oath-taking ceremony for new couples.

Besides marriage vows, electronic devices have become a hot pick among the youngsters this year.

Li Lei, Marketing & PR Director of Xiaomi phone, says the company is going to release an upgraded budget smartphone on the lovers' day, targeting young couples and white-collar workers.

"For the online debut of our new Redmi Note 4X, we will launch a special edition collaboration with the virtual idol Hatsune Miku. Rising to fame from a Japanese singing composition, the digital singer and her videos have received millions of clicks online. Hatsune Miku is now one of the world's most influential virtual figures. She will unveil the new phone with our celebrity spokespersons on Valentine's Day."

According to reports, for traditional presents, such as flowers, chocolates and jewelry, prices rise significantly on the special day.