CHENGDU, China — A married Chinese couple recently found out that their paths nearly crossed over a decade before they ever met face to face, and they have the photographs to prove it.
Mr. Ye and Ms. Xue, who have been married for five years, first met in 2011; today, they have twin daughters. But, until two weeks ago, neither had any idea just how close they were to meeting much sooner — 11 years sooner. The pair had visited the May Fourth Square in the port city of Qingado at the exact same moment, Channel News Asia reported.
Mr. Ye made the discovery on March 4 while going through photos of his wife at his mother-in-law's residence to help compare which parent their daughters resembled more.
It was on July 28, 2000, that Ms. Xue posed for a photograph in front of the large, red sculpture at the May Fourth Square. Yards away, and directly to the right of, stood Mr. Ye, also posing for his own photograph. She did not appear in his photo.
Ms. Xue said she had gone to the square with her mother, who had recently undergone an operation and visited the area to help relax. Mr Ye visited the public square as part of a tour group, but said he was only there in place of his mother who had to back out of the trip at the last minute, Sina News reported.
Mr. Ye said he immediately recognized himself in his wife's photo: "I was so surprised when I saw the photograph that I got goosebumps all over my body," he told the Chengdu Economic Daily.
Upon making the discovery, he posted the photo on social media, which quickly went viral. Now married with children, Mr. Ye and Ms. Xue plan to visit the square again one day, place that holds "special" meaning for their family.
"It seems that Qingdao is certainly one of the most special places (for us). When the children are older, we will go to Qingdao again the family will take a photo," said Mr. Ye to Sina News.
