Singles' Day began in 1993 as an informal Chinese celebration for people not in a relationship, with the date 11.11 chosen because it consists exclusively of “ones”.

In 2009 it was co-opted by Chinese e-commerce power house Alibaba who have since grown the event into the world's largest online shopping extravaganza.

Over the years, the day has also seen some rather bizarre incidents caused by the actions of overly-enthusiastic bargain hunters in China.