Three-day festival celebrates Chinese Valentine’s Day in Chongqing

A cultural and tourism festival kicked off Friday evening in the Rongchang district of Chongqing in southwest China to celebrate Qixi Festival – also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day – which falls on Saturday.

The three-day event will be held in Wanling Ancient Town, Grass Linen Town, Antao Pottery Town and Gufo Mountain in Rongchang. There will be thirteen traditional events, such as a floating river lantern activity, fireworks display, matchmaking event, hanfu parade and intangible cultural heritage fair.

In Chinese mythology, the Qixi Festival—the seventh day of the seventh lunar month—commemorates the annual meeting of Niulang, a cowherd, and Zhinyu, a weaver girl. In the legend, the two lovers travel across the Milky Way and cross a bridge made of magpies to reunite.

Rongchang, formerly known as Changzhou, founded in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), has a history of over 1,200 years. In 2022, it was officially designated as the Chongqing Historical and Cultural City.