BEIJING/CHANGSHA -- A slew of activities were organized across China as people celebrated the Qixi Festival on Tuesday.
The Qixi Festival, which is also referred to as Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on every 7th day of the 7th month according to the Chinese lunar calendar. It celebrates the legend of the annual meeting between the mythological figures of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
In Beijing, eight museums have extended their opening hours into the night, with some deciding to hold nighttime cultural activities to welcome the public. More than 50 cultural events are being held in museums across the Chinese capital city, with about 20 being conducted online.
While opening the museums at night, authorities have taken strict anti-epidemic measures to ensure that the public can enjoy a safe and smooth celebration, said Li Yang, with the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage.
In Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, local authorities have come up with a unique way to celebrate Qixi: traffic lights.
On the eve of Qixi, many netizens expressed their gratitude for local traffic police in Changsha in anticipation of massive traffic jams during the festival. In return, the police temporarily changed the traffic lights along a bustling commercial street in the city into the shape of hearts. They also urged people to follow traffic rules to ensure a safe Qixi Festival.
The heart-shaped traffic lights started operating at midnight Monday and soon went viral on social media, with the public lauding the police for their creativity.
"Through the heart-shaped traffic lights, we intend to promote traditional Chinese culture, while asking the public to abide by traffic rules," Changsha's traffic police said in a statement.
In celebrations of the festival, online dating site Baihejiayuan released a report on marriage and dating, highlighting topics such as finance, when to give birth, naming babies, and whether couples should live with their parents.
The report was based on about 13,000 respondents surveyed online.
"The variety of Qixi celebration activities allow people to delve into traditional Chinese culture and history, and give new meaning to the festival," said Yan Haiming, with the Chinese Committee for the International Council on Monuments and Sites.