'He is worth spending my life with': Woman in China marries man who rescued her in 2008 earthquake

In a love story reminiscent of a romance novel, a woman in China recently wedded her saviour who rescued her from a quake-hit building 17 years ago. 

Liu Ximei, 28, and Liang Zhibin, 40, tied the knot alongside 36 other couples at a mass traditional wedding ceremony in Changsha, Hunan province, on Nov 29, reported media outlet Rednet.cn. 

They first met in the wake of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, when Liu was an 11-year-old girl trapped within a collapsed two-storey building and Liang was a soldier taking part in a search-and-rescue operation. 

"I was half unconscious — I remember opening my eyes and seeing a (search) dog, and the blurry image of a hand," Liu recounted. 

At the hospital, her family managed to locate Liang, who was transporting another patient at that time. They exchanged contacts but did not keep in touch. 

By chance, the pair met again in 2020. 

Liu's mother had recognised Liang at a local eatery, leading the "excited yet slightly bashful" daughter to approach the latter to greet him, according to Rednet.cn. 

"It had been about 12 years. I didn't recognise her, but I remembered her parents," the former soldier explained. 

They started chatting on Chinese messaging app WeChat, with Liu taking the initiative to pursue him. 

"I didn't like him out of gratitude. Through the days that we got to know each other, I slowly realised that he is someone worth spending my life with," she earnestly told reporters. 

The woman later confessed her feelings for him. 

"He said, if I'm not bothered that he's older than me, he's willing to be in a relationship with me." 

Liang added that though he had saved Liu in 2008 during the call of duty, his love is sincere. 

Describing their meeting as "fate", he said: "Twelve years ago, I saved her; twelve years later, she became the light in my life." 

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com