Twelve couples, with each partner coming from a different side of the Taiwan Straits, get married on Friday at a group wedding ceremony in Fuzhou, Fujian province. [Photo by Wang Dongming/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Twelve couples, with each respective bride and groom coming from a different side of the Taiwan Straits, were married on Friday in a group wedding ceremony in Fuzhou, Fujian province.

Wearing traditional Chinese wedding gowns, they demonstrated traditional wedding etiquette, read their marriage vows together and promised lifelong love.

Chen Xuexin said that after long-distance relationship spanning a full year, he was finally happy.

"During the period of my university and postgraduate studies in Taiwan, I met my wife, Lyu Tingyu. We spent lots of time together because we studied under the same professor," he said. "Gradually, we fell in love."

After graduation, Chen returned to Fujian, his hometown, while Lyu had to stay in Taiwan for her final year of study.

But as an old saying goes, "Absence make the heart grow fonder."

"We could only communicate by phone and video," Chen said. "Long distance did not alienate our love, but increased our longing for each other and strengthened our determination to work together for the future."

After Lyu's graduation, she came to Fuzhou.

"At first, I came here just for love, but then I found that there are lots of preferential policies to support the employment and life of young people from Taiwan," she said. "I have found a satisfying job and started a new life with my husband in Fuzhou."