SHANGHAI - Love was in the air as couples celebrated the traditional Qixi Festival, known as China's Valentine's Day, in some unique ways in Shanghai on Monday.
The Expo 2010, in particular, was an ideal occasion for people to celebrate the day of romance, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
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Another 2,000 couples also said "I do" at a group wedding ceremony in the Henan Pavilion. They were blessed by 10 elderly couples, who were celebrating their golden anniversaries, or, marriages that had lasted for as long as 50 years.
For men who have not yet won the hearts of their beloved, a netizen named "Ge Ruisi" summarized six best places in the Expo Garden to confess their love. The Russia Pavilion was on top of the list for its fairytale-like dcor, comprising of flowers, forests and waterfalls.
"Girls always dream to find their princes and live happily ever after," he said in an online posting that has been republished more than 8,000 times on the popular social networking website Kaixin001.com.
And there is no dearth of creativity for men who wish to declare their love.
Glowworms, for instance, are extremely popular these days to facilitate a romantic atmosphere. At Taobao.com, a major online shopping site, around 30 stores are selling these worms, which glitter at night.
"Glowworms were especially in demand as Qixi was nearing, because men wanted to surprise theirs girls by flying the glowworms at midnight," said Qiu Yu, owner of an insect farm in Shanghai who owns an online store.
Since the life of glowworms can only last about three days in August after they leave the farm, most orders were placed on Sunday and Monday.
"I sold around 20,000 of the worms in these two days," she said, adding at least 30,000 have been sold since August at 5 yuan apiece.
"Girls will definitely be moved when hundreds of glowworms glitter in front of them," Qiu said. "What's more, they will see their boyfriends' love for them, as glowworms are hard to find now owing to the increasing use of pesticides and pollution."
An invitation to a masked party posted on Douban, a major message board site, received some 210 followers by Sunday. Eight men and eight women were finally selected for the party that took place in a service apartment in Shanghai on Sunday.
Unlike other parties, the guests were required to wear masks, which made the atmosphere funny and mysterious, said organizer Ni Weiqing, a media worker.
It was not a speed dating party. Instead, the organizers tried to provide opportunities for single people to make new friends, she explained.
"But it would be great if someone met their true love at the party," said Ni, who has organized 18 such parties since last November.
"The (mask) party was quite warm," she said, "the participants got to know each other after they shared and their viewpoints on love, their experiences with previous relationships.
"They were even planning for another get-together," she added.
