Pingtan, an island off the coast of China's Fujian Province and the closest mainland location to the island of Taiwan, serves as a key pilot zone for cross-Straits integration and China's second international tourism island after Hainan. On August 30, 2025, this island hosted the third edition of the "Mountain Oath, Sea Vow" collective wedding, a beloved event connecting Fujian and Taiwan families since 2023.

Eleven pairs of newlyweds—with one partner from Fujian and the other from Taiwan—exchanged vows in Pingtan, where they read and signed their marriage certificates amid festive music, and posed for photos at scenic spots to mark the occasion. Since the first wedding in 2023, the event has now brought together a total of 52 Fujian-Taiwan couples, many of whom identify as "New Fujianese" or "New Pingtanese" after settling in the region for work and life.

Several couples shared heartfelt stories of their journeys to marriage. Lin Xuanyou, from New Taipei City in Taiwan, met his spouse You Chennuo in Pingtan five years ago during a vacation. "We hit it off right away, and after a few months of getting to know each other, we knew we wanted to build a life here," Lin said; the couple now runs an art shop in Pingtan. Another pair, Cai Shixun (from Keelung, Taiwan) and Cai Qijin, fell in love in 2016 and tied the knot in July 2025. Cai Shixun works as an educator in Pingtan, while his wife relocated to the island from Ningde, Fujian.

Lin Fengjie, also from New Taipei City, has worked in Pingtan's rural tourism industry for eight years. He and his Pingtan-born wife Wei Yan credit their complementary personalities—"I'm more introverted, and she's outgoing"—for their strong bond. "We signed up for the collective wedding to make our marriage even more memorable," Lin shared.

Later that afternoon, a symposium for cross-Straits married families was held on the "Haitan No.1" cruise ship. Wang Nianzu, a Taiwan compatriot from Taipei who now lives in Fuzhou, Fujian, shared his 14-year marriage story. He met his wife Sui Xin (from Heilongjiang Province) at an academic conference in 2011, when both were studying at Peking University and Renmin University of China, respectively. The couple now teaches at a university in Fuzhou and has two children; their family was named one of "Fujian's Most Beautiful Families" in 2023.

When asked about maintaining a happy cross-Straits marriage, Wang offered a simple analogy: "Cross-Straits marriages are no different from any other marriages. Think of love as an engine—respect and trust are the fuel that keeps it running."

To support such families, Fujian has established Cross-Straits Marriage and Family Service Centers across the province (including in Xiamen and Fuzhou) since 2012. These centers provide one-stop services such as family education guidance, cultural exchanges, and marriage counseling. Official data shows that since the first cross-Straits marriage was registered in Xiamen in 1989, Fujian has recorded over 120,000 cross-Straits marriages—accounting for nearly one-third of all such marriages on the mainland.