(CNN) -- The Chinese government is bracing itself for a rush of people wishing to marry when the summer Olympics kick off on August 8 -- because the number carries a special significance in Chinese culture, the state news agency said Sunday.



A traditional Ming-style wedding is held in Nanjing, China, last December.



The number "eight" (ba) is considered auspicious by many in China because it sounds like the word for "wealth" and "fortune," the news agency Xinhua said.



"We've long been prepared for a stampede of newly-wed couples this year," Guo Xusheng, spokesman with the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, told Xinhua.



Every year, many couples choose the 8th of August -- the eighth month of the year -- hoping "eighth of the eighth" luck will rub off on them, the news agency said.



Nearly 3,400 couples got hitched on the day last year, some waiting all night outside the marriage registration office in Beijing.



This year, the civil affairs bureau is accepting online reservations for marriage registrations for the day.



The significance that numbers carry in Chinese culture often dictate various aspects of the people's lives there.



And of all the numbers, eight is considered one of the luckiest. Beijing, itself, opted to kick off the Olympic Games at 8 p.m. on 8/8/08. E-mail to a friend
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