BETA
Chapter 1
The campus origins of 11.11
Chapter 2
Alibaba's retail revolution
Chapter 3
The tech and logistics behind the madness
Chapter 4
The livestreaming boom and future trends
Ch 1 · The campus origins of 11.11
marcus Scale your shop to discover how Singles' Day became the world's biggest shopping event.
marcus Students in Mingcaowuzhu dorm chose November 11 because the four ones represent lonely individual sticks, a concept called guanggun
Quiz
What is the meaning of the Chinese slang term 'guanggun' which gave Singles' Day its original name?
Quiz
In which Chinese city did the original student-led Singles' Day celebrations begin in 1993?
marcus Students also celebrated Singles' Day by playing Mahjong and singing karaoke all day.
Quiz
Why did students eat deep-fried dough sticks (youtiao) on the original Singles' Day?
Quiz
What did the single steamed bun (baozi) represent when eaten alongside the four dough sticks on 11.11?
Fun Fact
Dough stick math: Eating four fried dough sticks and one steamed bun on 11.11 perfectly recreates the written date '11.11' on your breakfast plate!
Quiz
Which demographic factor in 1990s China contributed to the rapid spread of the bachelors' holiday?
Quiz
What was the original unofficial name of Singles' Day when it was celebrated primarily by male students?
Glossary
bachelor (noun)
A man who is not married. In 1993, four students at Nanjing University created a holiday to celebrate their unmarried status.
A man who is not married. In 1993, four students at Nanjing University created a holiday to celebrate their unmarried status.
Quiz
How did Singles' Day position itself relative to traditional romantic holidays like Valentine's Day?
Quiz
Which of these traditional societal expectations did the early campus Singles' Day directly challenge?