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A different ending for ‘Jack and Rose’

51 views · Published 17 October 2018 · 0:37 · Indexed 27 September 2026

Channel: People's Daily, China 人民日报 · 2018 · News & Politics

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A different ending for ‘Jack and Rose’: Chinese couple celebrates wedding 3 months after surviving Thailand sunken boat that killed 47

In the epic love story Titanic, Jack refuses to share the door and leaves the last hope for life for Rose and drops into the sea, a heartbreaking scene for worldwide viewers. In real life, a Chinese couple survived a sinking boat after floating for long hours and brought their love to a sweet ending. 

On July 5, 2018, two tour boats carrying mostly Chinese passengers capsized off Phuket in southern Thailand, killing 47 Chinese nationals.

During the incident, Zhang Haoxin, a 30-year-old man from Xinyang City, central China’s Henan Province who was aboard boat “Serenita”, helped four people survive, including his fiancée Meng Ying, who was on pre-marriage trip with him. He quickly became an online celebrity after media reports and he was applauded by Chinese netizens for his bravery and amazing acts of kindness.

Zhang was offered a 100,000 yuan (S$20,400) reward by his company for his bravery, but refused to take it saying "I don't think I'm that great. Anyone will do the same in that kind of situation." Zhang's fiancee Meng Ying said "he is a really kind man". Meng said she was not surprised at what Zhang did because he always tried to help others in daily life. 

On Oct 14, Zhang and his fiancée celebrated wedding in their hometown in Henan. When he sang a beautiful song that “you will be my only love for the rest of my life” and walked towards his groom, guests at the site were greatly touched.

According to Meng and other witnesses, during the accident, Zhang tried his best to put Meng onto the lifeboat when the boat started sinking, and then gave his floating surfboard to an elderly couple struggling in water. After escorting them to the lifeboat and helping them get in, the raft had to leave without him since there was no more space. The lifeboat did not come back to Zhang. He was floating in the sea with the help of some floats, which he later gave to a sailor from the “Serenita” who kept vomiting. After drifting together more than 12 hours for the whole night, they arrived at an island the next morning and were finally rescued by a fishing boat.

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