As a Chinese saying goes, "Take your hand, and hold it forever. " Eternal love is what peo-ple dream of, and this kind of love truly exists in Heyuan city, Guangdong province.
Pan Tianci and Gao Di, who were born in 1919 and 1920 respectively, have spent 93 years to-gether and been married for 81 years. Gao joine.d Pan´ s family as a child bride when she was only two, and later got married at 14. Now they have a family boasting four generations and 15 mem-bers in total.
Marriages that have lasted more than 80 years are known as "oak marriages", and are very rare. It is said that only 20 or so couples in the world have oak marriages. Oak is labeled as the tree of mystery. Being the tallest and exuberant tree in the world, oak tree is in charge of Cupid the god of love in the Greek ancient myth. Oak marriage refers to the 80 anniversary of marriage, which is derived from French, symbolized the love for a long time.
To celebrate Pan and Gao´ s "oak marriage", an anniversary party was held in the village over the weekend.
Villagers say the couple stays in good health, and the two of them usually hang out hand in hand. According to their 67-year-old son, Pan and Gao have always respected each other and never lost temper in the past, setting a good example for their progeny.