Lin Zifan, a student at Huzhou Vocational Technology College, married his fiancee in Wenzhou, a coastal city in East China's Zhejiang Province, during the May Day holiday.

At the age of 24, he is reportedly the first college student from the province to tie the knot while still studying for his degree.

"To get married is a college student's desire like anyone else," said Lin, adding that he does not want to be in the spotlight because of his early marriage.

Lin's bride, Chen Liyang, 24, helps her family run a clothes shop in Yinchuan in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Majoring in marketing, Lin said he plans to go to Yinchuan with his wife to do business.

"I will go to Yinchuan to practice what I have learned in school," said Lin, who will graduate this July.

Lin said he was confident that married life would not affect his study. "We can encourage each other to strive for our goals," he said.

The two grew up together and liked each other from being young.

They fell in love when they met eight years later after graduating from junior middle school.

Having been dating for half a year, Lin and his wife, both from single-child families, talked about getting married several times and finally decided to get married in May.

A ban that prevented university students getting married was lifted in March this year, according to revised guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education.

"Lin's decision to get married is his own choice. And we respect his decision and wish him a happy life," said Lin's teacher from the Huzhou college.

"When he asked me for a residence certificate, I did not realize that he was going to be a bridegroom," she said, adding that she was shocked when she first learnt about Lin's marriage plans.

Though the revised guidelines give the green light to college marriages, it does not mean that the college encourages students to wed, according to the teacher.

Before the rule change, college students getting married would be ordered to leave school.

However, since 2003, more than 70 universities on the Chinese mainland have waved the marriage ban.

After China simplified procedures for marriage applications in October 2003, schools had less ability to keep track of their students' marital status.

(China Daily May 12, 2005)