Searching for whatever on Valentine’s Day

The most common internet searches on Qixi, or Chinese Valentine’s Day, which fell on Monday, had to do with finding ways to express love — or breaking up.

According to Sogou, China’s second-largest search engine, the top keyword search for Qixi was “love confession”.

The second most common search? “Breaking up”.

That was followed by “emotional recovery”, “cheating” and, at No 5, “having babies”.

Sogou’s data showed that people aged 24 to 30 showed the most interest in the festival, with 37 percent of all online searches related to the event.

Surprisingly, the generation born in the 2000s was more excited about the day than those born in the 1980s — people usually regarded as the main force behind the festival.

For anyone wanting to look for love during the festival, the advice might be: Be cosmopolitan.

People in Shanghai and Beijing municipalities care for Valentine’s Day the most, followed by people in Guangdong, Hubei and Fujian provinces.

And those lucky enough to have a better half were searching for presents, customs and quotes about Qixi, and looking for ways online to express their love.

Hotels, restaurants and amusement parks are still favored by couples for dates, though some prefer going to a concert or feasting on street food.

Single people, however, are definitely feeling left out on Qixi. According to an online survey of 30,000 participants by Sogou and dating website jiayuan.com, 53 percent of single males and 37 percent of single females said they didn’t care whether dinner that night was special or delicious — as long as it didn’t leave them hungry.

What’s more, one-third of single people hate the idea of spending time with couples. Say no more. It is not a special day for everyone.