China allows transsexual to marry

Another transsexual has been allowed to marry in China, state media said on Wednesday.

Zhang Lin, 37, received not only a new ID card showing he was now a woman, but a marriage certificate Monday in Peng township in southwest Sichuan province, the Yangcheng Evening News reported.

It is the second transsexual marriage reported by Chinese media in recent months. In December a 29-year-old man, previously a woman, tied the knot.

Zhang and her husband, Yang Qicheng, planned to hold a big marriage celebration on May 1 for 500 guests, the report said.

Prior to the surgery, Zhang had married a woman and they had a 12-year-old daughter.

"Dad, what shall I call you then?" she asked Zhang, the paper reported. Zhang did not answer but said she and her husband would try their best to give the girl a good education and living environment.

Transsexuals have ceased to be taboo in urban China in recent years, and 500 Chinese men have had sex change operations, according to previous reports. No figure was available for women.