A long drive through holiday traffic from one to the other turned into a viral love story after a man used a simple banner to ask fellow motorists for help to call his girlfriend in time.
The 26-year-old man, identified as Tan, drove 932 kilometers during China’s busiest travel season to surprise his girlfriend with a marriage proposal.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, Tan is originally from Jiangxi province in central China, but he does business in Fujian province. In February, during the spring festival tourism boom, he decided to go to Guizhou in southwest China, where his girlfriend had returned to celebrate Chinese New Year with her family.
A banner that caught everyone’s attention
Before starting the 12-and-a-half-hour journey, Tan placed a bright red banner on the back window of his car. The message was simple but heartfelt.
“Brothers, let me go first. I’m heading to Guizhou to propose to the love of my life.”
The banner quickly caught the attention of other drivers on the highway. Several motorists took videos from the car and shared them on social media, where the story soon began to spread.
Tan later told Jiangxi TV that the banner served two purposes – to share his excitement and to politely ask drivers to give him priority in heavy traffic jams.
The Chinese Spring Festival travel season, known as chunyun, is widely regarded as the largest annual human migration in the world. As millions of people travel to their hometowns, highways, railways and airports across the country often experience large crowds and long delays.
Kindness On The Way
Despite the traffic chaos, Tan said many drivers reacted warmly after noticing the banner.
“At first, the journey seemed endless,” Tan said. “But the closer I got, the more excited I became. The kindness I received made my happiness even greater.”
According to him, several motorists honked and waved as they passed. In one instance, during a particularly long traffic jam, a woman even got out of her car to congratulate him.
Surprise proposal and viral fame
Tan’s girlfriend had no idea about the plan. The couple met at university and have been in a relationship for four years.
When Tan finally arrived in Guizhou and proposed, she was surprised – and happily said yes.
On February 26, the newly engaged couple returned to Jiangxi together.
The banner’s videos and romantic trips soon went viral on mainland social media, garnering more than two million views. Many users congratulated the couple, while one joked that after so many drivers helped him reach his destination, Tan had to make sure he didn’t let his fiancee down.
