When 38-year-old Rongfeng Duan took out a golden Tiffany ring studded with diamonds, gasps and applause resounded in the public library of West Hollywood. He was not about to get down on his knee and make a proposal fitting for another viral video. That day, he was already exchanging promise of forever with the love of his life. The crowd's attention soon shifted to the next couple but his new spouse was still in tears. Duan's 30-year-old husband Li Tao can't help but gush over his wedding ring.

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Duan and Li are only one of the seven Chinese gay couples who flew all the way to Los Angeles, California to have their union legalized. The American wedding was made possible through an online contest launched by Alibaba, an e-commerce giant in China, in partnership with Blued, China's biggest gay dating app with 15 million members. According to BBC, over 2,000 couples sent in their application videos for "We Do," and only 10 pairs were chosen via public voting. Three couples had to drop out of the all-expense-paid trip because of visa problems.

West Hollywood Mayor Lindsay Horvath officiated the ceremony in a proud exercise of her mission to stand for marriage equality. In an official statement quoted by Refinery 29, Horvath stated her hopes that the rites "will send a strong message" that her city welcomes and celebrates the LGBT community's right to marry. She further described the occasion as a demonstration of love and commitment that all couples share.

According to LA Times, up to 80 percent of gay men in China resort to marrying women because of parental pressure and need for social acceptance. Same-sex relationships in the country have come a long way, from being a severely punishable taboo to gaining lukewarm tolerance from the government. Still, gay couples believe so much work must done for the LGBT community to be understood and fully embraced in the current social climate.    

Beyond acceptance of their family and the society, gay couples also seek matrimonial union to have the same rights and duties as heterosexual couples do. In an interview with Advocate, Tao Lin and Yanghai Zhou, who have been together for more than three years, "expect to share the same legal commitment." 

"We don't want to see one day, when we get old, we still can't prove that we are in 'family relationship,'" the couple shared. 

TagsChinese Gay Couple, Los Angeles, gay marriage