(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-11-14 13:42

Time did not seem to be on the side of 70-year-old Zhang Huiying.

It was one thing in these parts for a graying woman like her to fall madly in love - quite another with a man two years her junior.

The difference in age was taboo enough for him to turn down her marriage proposal not once, but twice.

Help from a staff member of the home for the aged in Dunhua City, Jilin Province, where both elderly lived, as well as Zhang's four supportive daughters from a previous marriage, proved futile.

The retired official from the local geological department, whose spouse like Zhang's died years ago, made it quite clear that if he was to marry again, it would be with someone younger, not the retiree of a forestry farm.

The advances of a suitor from another home failed to stir the man's cold heart.

But the love that Zhang felt for Du Zhonghe the moment she moved into the home where he was at the beginning of the year flamed on resolutely - even as others thought it was a lost cause.

It took a few days of tender-loving care from Zhang to move Du, when the man fell ill six months ago and was bedridden.

Du recovered and was totally smitten when Zhang even offered to introduce a younger woman to him.

"You are really very nice. I no longer want to marry someone younger than me," Du told his new love.

Things moved fast thereafter and the couple quickly made up for lost time.

A special wedding ceremony last week saw not just family members, friends and guests from the home, but also reporters from the local media eager to know more about the love story that caught the community's imagination, reports the City Evening News.

The bride and groom also received blessings from Yangge, a popular folk dance, performed by more than 100 senior citizens of their Xiyanghong Rest Home.

The home put together a special room for the old couple, decorating it with celebratory flowers and red silk items.

"I no longer feel lonely," Du told local media.

True enough, the newly-weds have seldom been seen apart ever since.