While going through some old photographs recently, married couple Mr. Ye and Ms. Xue, from Chengdu, China made an astonishing discovery. Back in the year 2000, 11 years before they actually met, they were captured together taking the same photograph, having both been at the same place at the same time, without ever knowing it.

Now, this may not seem so remarkable at first glance, but consider that China is a country of over 1 billion people, and they were not in some small town where they both grew up, but in the huge city of Qingdao, on the other side of this vast country. The odds of having such a close encounter with your future lifelong partner, years before making the actual connection, are incredibly slim.

More than a decade after the photograph was taken, the couple met in Chengdu, got married and had children. It was at Ms. Xue’s mother’s house where they stumbled across the long forgotten photo.

“I heard her mention before that she had been to Qingdao, while I also went to Qingdao and took pictures at the May Fourth Square. We didn’t know it yet,” Mr Ye told Chengdu Business Daily. He recognized himself in Ms. Xue’s photo instantly. “When I saw the photo, I was taken by surprise and I got goosebumps all over my body … that was my pose for taking photos. I also took a photo, it was the same posture, just from a different angle.”

Mr. Ye managed to dig up the photo he had also taken at the exact same time and place, and shared the story of the remarkable chance encounter, which has gone viral over social media in China.

The couple’s friends have interpreted the photo as a sign that they were destined to be together, while the couple themselves are shocked at the power of fate and believe that the encounter was a miracle. Qingdao now holds a special place in their hearts.

“It seems that Qingdao is certainly one of the most special cities for us. When the children are older, we will go to Qingdao again and the family will take a photo again.”

This is a photo of Ms. Xue, taken 18 years ago

Image credits: Asia Wire

That guy in the background is Mr. Ye, who got his photo taken at the very same moment

Image credits: Asia Wire

Why do these two photos matter?

Image credits: Asia Wire

Because 11 years later these two got married

Image credits: Asia Wire

“When I saw the photo, I was taken by surprise and I got goosebumps all over my body”

Image credits: Asia Wire

The couple’s friends have interpreted the photo as a sign that they were destined to be together

Image credits: Asia Wire

“When the children are older, we will go to Qingdao again and the family will take a photo together”

Image credits: Asia Wire

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