Not long ago , an unusual wedding was held in Bcijing's Yuyuantan Park. Both the bride and bridegroom suffered from cancer but had made surprising improvement with the aid of qigong. a traditional C.hinese healing system that relies heavily on breathing exercises. It is also through qigong that the young couple met and fell in love.

    The 28-year-old Guo Chengpei was formerly a top player on the Beijing table tennis team. But after participating in the First Pyongyang lnternational Table Tennis Invitational Tournament in Sepember 1981 , he felt his health declining and he could hardly talk. After an examination he was diagnosed as having lung cancer, which is usually fatal. He had to stop training and undergo treatment.

    Because Guo's cancer had spread to his lymph nodes, it was inoperable. The radiation treatment he received helped little. His doctor predicted that despite his youth, Guo had only three months to live.
    However, being trained as a table tennis player for 12 years, he had an unyielding will and an optimistic attitude. and he did not give up hope.
    One of his friends suggested that he practise qigong, which is credited with prolonging many cancer patients' lives. This strengthened his will to surmount the disease.

    He took his friend's advice to practise Guo Lin qigong (a combination of moving and breathing) every day.
    Getting up at 2:45 a. m. he took the night shuttle bus to Ditan Park and started his routine at 3:40 a. m. He practised for more than five hours. His father and uncles took turns accompanying him.
    With his strong will and indomitable perseverance, he has kept practising qigong for seven and a half years, in all kinds of weather.

    A check-up in 1987 showed that the lung cancer's spread to the lymph nodes had disappeared and the tumour was reduced in size. His weight has increased from 60 to 85 kilograms. He has become fitter and his general health has improved.His 26-year-old bride, Chen Yamei, became ill with thymoma in September 1985.
    "When I was told that I had cancer, I felt the future looked so dark and miserable that I was in despair," she said.

    In December that year, she had an operation. Afterwards she received chemical and radioactive treatments, but little effect could be seen. The cancer began to spread to the lymph nodes and bones.
    While she was hospitalized she often saw patients around her die. She was terribly frightened and she felt on the brink of death herself.

    In June 1986, she heard that qigong could help cure cancer. Though she didn't completely believe it, she saw a glimmer of hope and decided to try It.
    She also went to Ditan Park to learn qigong and was assigned to the class that was instructed by Guo Chengpei.
    "Everyone in my qigong class looks vigorous and energetic,"Chen said. "There is no sign that they have had the deadly disease. It gives me confidence