The opening ceremony of the fifth Chinese Lover Festival in Yiyuan, Shandong province.

The fifth Chinese Lover Festival is in full swing in Yiyuan, Shandong province to celebrate "Qixi", also known as Chinese Valentine's Day. It is believe that the holiday originated in this region.

According to Chinese legend, a beloved couple, a cowherd and a weaving maid, were separated by the galaxy and allowed to meet only once a year in heaven on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which falls on August 23 this year.

In accordance with the legend, an annual love festival has been held in Yiyuan since 2008.

This year's event, which ran until Sunday, features more than 10 cultural and tourist activities, including a bonfire party, a love story show, a collective wedding ceremony, a love duet contest, and the local intangible cultural heritage show.

More than 50,000 tourists participated in the event to celebrate the Chinese traditional day for lovers.

Located in the center of Shandong province, Yiyuan is home to a "weaver cave" and a "cowherd temple", which are said to have been built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and separated by a long natural river for more than one thousand years.

The place was considered the origin of the legend of the cowherd and weaver by the China Folklore Society in 2007.