Double Seventh Day “七”待与你，“夕”望是你

The Double Seventh Festival isn’t a shopping festival like Double 5 or Double 11, it’s actually one of China’s traditional festivals，七夕节. It falls on the 7th day of the 7th Chinese lunar month. The festival is about the same age as the Great Wall of China, meaning it dates back 2,000 years. On May 20th, 2006, it was added to the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list by the State Council of China.

七夕节, also known as Chinese Valentine's Day, is rooted in the legend about a cowherd 牛郎, a human being, and weaving girl 织女, a fairy. They fell in love at first sight and married. 牛郎 didn’t know that 织女 was a fairy and the seventh daughter of the Queen of heaven 王母娘娘. When the Queen of Heaven found out that 织女 had married to a mere mortal, she was furious and sent celestial soldiers to bring 织女 back. She removed her hairpin and created a huge river, known as the Milky Way, to separate the couple. However, their love was so strong and moved all the magpies, which formed a bridge over the river, and later they were allowed to meet each other once a year on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month.

A famous Chinese poem 鹊桥仙 was written based on this legend. It says 两情若是久长时，又岂在朝朝暮暮，If love between both sides can last for aye，why need they stay together night and day? Renowned poet William Shakespeare in his Sonnet 116 said Love alters not with brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom. It seems that love has long been an eternal theme for poets regardless of time or place.

Here in Shanghai, we’ve got so many places that are full of love. 甜爱 Road is one of them, as its name indicates Sweet Love. Lovers would head to 甜爱 Road to take photos to record some sweet moments. The Blind Date Corner 相亲角 in People’s Park is also a place of love. Parents of single adults flock to the park in search of a spouse for their son or daughter. Take a stroll along the Bund in the daytime and you can explore the Lover’s Wall that measures 1700 meters long. It was a flood control wall and became a popular hangout for dating couples in the 1970s and 1980s. Thousands of young lovers used to come here on dates. Now the place is decorated with flowers and plants to add a more romantic vibe.

In fact, no matter how you spend Valentine’s Day, what really matters is whom you spend it with. 愿天下有情人终成眷属！