At least 10,000 couples have applied to have their marriages registered in Guangdong province on Friday, the Valentine's Day and the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival, Nanfang Daily reported.

Wang Changsheng, deputy director of Guangdong Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, has urged marriage registration centers across the province to provide even better services and prepare for the surge of people competing for marriage certificates.

The number of people who register for marriage on Valentine's Day is five times more than ordinary days, Wang said.

In Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, more than 3,000 pairs will tie the knot while another 1,000 will marry in Shenzhen special economic zone on Friday.

Guangdong issues marriage certificates to around 1 million couples every year.