Happy Singles Day!

Singles Day, known as Guang Gun Festival, was first observed by university students in the 1990s, who chose the date because of its four lonely figures, 11/11. The special day is now welcomed by many young people.“Happy Singles Day!” is the congratulatory message spread among single youths via short message services on cell phones on November 11th, a day on the calendar for unmarried people.
Many youths in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou like to hold parties on the day or go to bars to enjoy themselves in twos and threes.
Zhi Chengguan, 38, a white-collar employee in Guangzhou, said he has waited for the Singles Day to come for a few days.
Zhi said he will see a film by himself in the evening, then visit a local bar, drink beer and chat with friends until midnight.
It is no longer a taboo to be single in the country, especially in big metropolises like Guangzhou, Zhi said.
Zhi, who dated seriously twice in his 20s but was sadly dumped each time, has no plans to date again, let alone get married.
This year, single Chinese people are being invited to shop for a partner at a so-called love supermarket as the country prepares for the Singles Day.
Millions of singletons were being encouraged to pay about 100 yuan to submit photos of themselves - along with their vital statistics, age, salary, profession and hometown - to be viewed by people shopping for a partner.。
Clients are even required to produce official documents to support their claims.
“This way, we are superior to online dating agencies, where people put up false information, " said Gao Shan, the love supermarket`s company secretary.
Over the past five years, the number of one-person households in China rose by 29 percent.
By 2020, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 23 million Chinese men will have no choice but to remain bachelors.