The Chinese celebrate Valentine’s Day not on 14th February like most of the world, but according to the lunar calendar. The Chinese Valentine’s Day, or Qixi, falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. In 2009, this date occurred on 26 August.

The Chinese have an altogether different reason for celebrating Valentine’s Day, but the underlying theme of love and friendship bridges geographical demarcations. Chinese legend has it that this day marks the once-a-year coming together of a star-crossed couple in heaven – a cowherd and a weaver.

In eastern China’s Hangzhou city, evening festivities take the shape of dance, crafts and mouth-watering local cuisine. Many place fruits outside their windows on this evening to pay homage to the star Vega (symbolising the weaving maid) while young girls compete with each other in a needle-threading competition, held under moonlight. Both events have their genesis in the Han Dynasty (206BC–220AD).