What is China's Singles' Day?
Singles' Day, or Bachelor's Day, emerged in 1993 after a group of single male university students in east China's Nanjing coined an idea for an 'anti-Valentines Day'.
The day, on November 11, started as an excuse for locals to get together and celebrate being single, but quickly developed into a phenomenon across China.
November 11 is chosen because the date comprises four ones. The four digits, written out as 11.11, signifies the status of 'being alone'. Hence the festival is also called 'bare sticks holiday' in China.
People pick up packages from private delivery company couriers outside of an office building in Beijing on Nov 12, 2018
It was adopted by e-commerce giant Alibaba when it started to launch 'Double 11' deals on Singles' Day in 2009, rapidly transforming the festival into the massive online haul it is today.
It was also seen as a chance to boost sales in the lull between China's Golden Week national holiday in October and the Christmas season.
In that first year consumers spent 50 million yuan (around £5m) and 27 merchants offered discounts.
Sales officially opens at midnight, releasing a wave of pre-orders that shoppers place ahead of the event and propelling the first billion dollar of transactions in just minutes.
'Back in 2013, 35 billion yuan (£4 billion) was our one-day GMV (gross merchandise volume),' said Alibaba's Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang in a live microblog posting on Alibaba's event. 'Now we can achieve it in one hour.'
Alibaba is not the only retailer to mark November 11 with a massive sales drive. China's no. 2 e-commerce player - and bitter Alibaba rival - JD.com Inc and many others also offer discount deals on the day.
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