The Wedding Day is usually the most expensive single-day event in the lives of couples. But decades ago, many Chinese couldn't afford big celebrations. CGTN's Jenny Cortes Ybañez goes to meet a couple, who have been married for 65 years and recently renewed their vows, to find out how things have changed.

In China more and more couples over the age of 70 to 80 begin to recelebrate their union by renewing their vows and having the party that they wished they had the first time around.

Meet Zhuge Junhong and Yu Manpo, one of a hundred couples, who got remarried last October of 2017 at an event hosted by the retirement home they belong to.

They marked their diamond anniversary in style, where they literally had the red carpet rolled out for them. Definitely a far cry from their first wedding day in 1953, which was organised by the Russians who were living in their small town in Guangdong as foreign aides.

YU MANPO "It was a different time. There were a lot of Russians experts back then. By Russian tradition, each one of them brought us a bottle of wine to congratulate us."

ZHUGE JUNHONG "We didn't have any fancy dresses. So we just found some clean casual wear. It was just a small gathering of friends and colleagues, and our leader gave a speech which officiated the marriage. The Russians asked us to kiss, but we were really conservative, not like today's people. It was embarrassing, but everyone was asking, so we kissed anyway as a polite gesture."

Zhuge and Yu, who both started out as translators for the Russian aides, lived during a time where there were no phones or photographers so no official photos or videos were taken of them on their big day.

YU MANPO "After the wedding we were separated. He was in Hainan Island and I was in Zhanjiang. We could only meet once every two weeks. The wait was so hard."

ZHUGE JUNHONG "I had to cross the Qiongzhou Strait every time if we were to meet. The waves in the sea were really big and our boat was so small. The boats used to capsize in the strait all the time back then. So every time we would say goodbye it was as if it might be our last. We really cherished our time together."

JENNY CORTES YBAÑEZ BEIJING "After hearing Zhuge and Yu's story I can see how their views of love and marriage have changed from when they were a young couple in the late 1950's to now. They lived in a different time back then, as one of the reasons they decided to get married the first time around was because they shared the same interests and had common goals of taking part in helping build a newborn country. Whereas now the reason they decided to get married again was because of their love for each other. Like most couples do."

ZHUGE JUNHONG "We've been working all our lives and never had a real, formal wedding. Now we have pictures to commemorate our love, and we can show them to our kids and grandkids, and tell them, even though we are old, we are still pretty."

Whether the wedding was big or small, either way they have a successful marriage. And when I asked what the secret to that was, they replied - by working and solving problems together. JCY, CGTN, Beiijng.