Singles' Day

A day for singles

The date is 11 November, written 11/11, and the four ones in it are the reason for the choice. In Chinese internet slang a bare stick, guanggun, means an unmarried man, so the numbers stand for single people. The day belongs to anyone without a partner, and each year it lands on the same date. Parties, club nights and gatherings are held, many of them meant to help people meet. Some single people mark their own company; others use the occasion to look for someone.

Origins and history

According to the account most often told, the date began at Nanjing University in 1993, in a dormitory called Mingcaowuzhu where the students were all unmarried men. Four of them wanted a break from the sameness of single life, so they agreed to set aside 11 November for events that honoured it. The idea travelled to other universities in Nanjing during the 1990s and then into wider Chinese society. Social media helped it spread further. Other explanations for the holiday's beginnings exist, and the dorm story is the one most widely accepted.

Shopping and shows

What changed the scale of the day was a decision in 2009 by Daniel Zhang, then chief executive of Alibaba, who turned it into a 24-hour event with discounts online and entertainment offline. Rival sellers such as JD.com run their own versions. The figures are enormous: Chinese platforms reported about US$44.5 billion of sales in 2017, and more than US$150 billion in 2025, more than Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day together. Alibaba holds a gala on the night before, and singers including Taylor Swift and Katy Perry have appeared at these shows.

Outside China

Through the internet the date has reached shoppers well beyond China, especially in Southeast Asia, where the Lazada marketplaces took 6.5 million orders in 2017. In Indonesia some shops call 11 November Harbolnas, a national online shopping day, though that event is usually held a month later, on 12 December. German retailer MediaMarkt promotes the date in its shops and Belgian stores take part, which drew criticism there because 11 November is also the anniversary of the 1918 armistice. In Britain a separate National Singles Day is kept on 11 March.

How Singles' Day is kept

Unmarried people are the ones the day is named for, but it is now kept by both women and men, and mostly by younger Chinese. Groups of friends and colleagues mark it together. Clubs and bars put on parties, and blind date events are common, since many people use the evening to try to meet a partner. Online, the shopping runs for one full day, with a gala from Alibaba on the night before it opens. In schools the date was once simply a reason for students to gather.

When and where

It falls on 11 November every year, the same date each time, which is why it is written 11/11 or Double 11. The choice is tied to the four ones in the date. In 2011 there were six ones, because the year added two more, and that occasion was called the Singles Day of the Century.

The day belongs to China, where it began among Nanjing students and where the biggest sales are held. It is strongest in the cities, among them Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Hong Kong, and it has travelled through the internet to Southeast Asia, with shoppers in Indonesia and other markets taking part. Retailers in Germany, Belgium and Norway have also promoted it.

What Singles' Day means

Those who read meaning into the digits say the single 1 stands for one person alone. Two of them, 11, become two people who have found each other and are together on one side of the date. Doubled again, 2 x 11, the number speaks of couples, each made of two single people who met on the day. The date is also a popular one for weddings, which sits oddly with its name.

Questions people ask about Singles' Day

See also

ChristmasA festival of Jesus's birth, kept on 25 December with gifts, lights and shared mealsValentine's DayA Christian feast day and cultural celebration of love kept on February 14 in many countries.MawlidAn annual festival marking the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, marked by poetry, processions and feasts.Water lanternSmall lamps floated on water to honour the dead and ask for good fortune

Good reading and sources

• Chinese shoppers spend a record $25bn in Singles Day splurgeThe Guardian, Article
• Chinese shoppers spend a record $25bn in Singles Day splurgeThe Guardian, Article

• Singles' Day on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.