Photo taken on Oct. 24, 2016 shows an elderly couple holding hands in ICU hours before the husband died in east China's Zhejiang. (Xinhua/Wang Yanfang)

BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- A heartwarming photo featuring an elderly Chinese couple, who were married for 66 years, holding hands in the intensive care unit just hours before the husband died has touched millions deeply and gone viral on the internet these days. The couple has been hailed as the symbol of true love.

The photo was shot and shared by Wang Yanfang, head nurse of the ICU with Yinzhou hospital affiliated to the medical school of Ningbo University, east China's Zhejiang Province.

Feng Ming, the husband and 92, was put into the ICU on Oct. 19 due to heart failure and his condition deteriorated to multiple organ failures, lung infection. The old man could not talk, and had been kept alive by life support machine.

His family decided to terminate therapy and brought him home. The old man expressed a wish to see his wife before he went home.

At the time, Zhang Ping, the wife, who is three years older than her husband, had been receiving treatment at another floor of the same hospital due to fractured thighbone.

The elderly couple posed for a photo at wife Zhang Ping's 80th anniversary of birthday in 2002. (Xinhua/file photo)

"The visiting hour of the ICU is from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., but Feng's condition is too severe to wait till then," said Wang, the head nurse who suggested a special arrangement be made so that the couple could meet. The wife was transferred on a stretcher from the 14th floor to the ICU on the third floor.

Feng finally saw his wife at 10:15 a.m. on Oct. 24.

The head nurse recalled that when the couple were together, the old lady grasped her husband's hand tightly, and talked to her hubby in the local dialect of Ningbo: "Don't worry about me, fella. Rest assured that I can take a good care of myself."

Feng wept on hearing her words. Several hours later, he passed away at his home.

"We made an exception for the elderly couple to meet so that the touching moment can happen and be preserved, I am grateful that we made a right choice,"said Wang.

Netizen with username of "Xingfuyulu" wrote on Sina Weibo that "I finally understand what's the meaning of holding one's hand and growing old with someone you love, the photo moved me to tears." Web user"Xiamulee" commented that "it's so sweet, they make me to believe in love again."

"Nowadays we should make 'growing old together' as our faith in a time of flash marriage," said another netizen "yingxiongqianbi."

Just as a Chinese poem goes, "For life or death, however separated, To our wives we pledged our word. We held their hands; We are to grow old together with them. "