The first gay marriage in Jiangsu Province was celebrated on the evening of November 20 when Zhang Zhen, "about 40," and Ying Zi, "in his 20s," held their wedding ceremony at Junlin Bar in Changzhou with 310 of their friends and acquaintances from Shanghai, Zhejiang, Anhui and Shandong provinces. The bridegroom Zhang, a businessman from Shanghai, and the bride Ying from Wenshan, Yunnan Province met in August in a bar where Ying performed as a drag queen.

The ceremony began at 10:45 pm when the host, "Poison" who operates a website for gays in Jiangsu asked them, "Do you believe the marriage is a gift of your fate, and are you willing to take one another as your partner?" Zhang and Ying answered, "Yes!"

They exchanged rings and drank toasts to each other as the crowd shouted, "Kiss, kiss!" Zhang kissed Ying slightly on the cheek.

"Others say there is no true love between gays, but now we would like to use this way to show the love is everywhere," said the couple, who cannot legally register their union.

Xinmin Evening News