ROMANCE is not the privilege of the young, and clear evidence of this is provided by Shenzhen resident Wang Hua (Rose) and her British husband Robin Raymond Dudley.

Wang, 51, an English teacher in the city, and Dudley, 60, first met in the British town of Great Yamouth two years ago. They are going to take part in a mass wedding ceremony in Shenzhen on Sept. 28, the birthday of Wang, to give a surprise to their friends.

"When I first saw her, she was crossing a pedestrian crossing on a busy road with a lot of other people; she stood out as being the only Asian amongst them. She seemed cute, and I liked her right away," recalled Dudley.

Wang came up to Dudley to ask if he could take a photo. As he was doing so, three drunken men tried to harass them, but he gallantly drove them away. She found out that Dudley, apart from being an excellent amateur photographer, was a Police Sergeant and a software developer for the British Ministry of Defense.

The two spent the day together. They thought they would never meet each other again as Wang had to return to China the next week. But the Internet helped.

They chatted online and in December 2004, Dudley came to China for the first time in his life to visit Wang. It was then he says he fell in love with her. In March this year, Dudley came to Shenzhen after retiring and the two registered their marriage.

Dudley has started writing a blog about his China experience. While his descriptions of Chinese wedding customs are certainly worth reading, his account of how he is obtaining a driver's license in China is also very interesting. He has already completed all the paper work, passed a medical test, and is now ready for the written test in Chinese. Dudley hopes he will be allowed an interpreter to help him.

Editor: Wing