Qixi Festival, also known as Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month and traces back to the folk legend of the cowherd and the weaver girl. On this day, state media has developed a habit of revisiting public photographs of the country's leader and his wife together, a modest tradition that has taken hold in recent years. This Qixi, a batch of photographs of President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, together has once again surfaced in official media.
From performer to global health envoy
Peng Liyuan's public profile first grew out of her singing career. She was a well known soprano with the People's Liberation Army's song and dance ensemble, becoming a household name in China for a string of folk songs, and rose to the rank of major general during her military career. After her husband became president, her public role shifted increasingly toward public health and education, and she has since served as a WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS and a UNESCO Special Envoy for the Advancement of Girls' and Women's Education, speaking on these issues at international events on multiple occasions.
Side by side on state visits
Images of the couple walking down an aircraft staircase together or attending welcoming ceremonies side by side have become a recurring feature of Chinese diplomatic coverage in recent years. Whether the trip is to a neighboring country or across continents, state media often pairs these moments with reporting on the official agenda, presenting the diplomatic itinerary alongside a more personal, family oriented image of the leadership.
For a traditional holiday like Qixi, choosing to mark the occasion with photographs of the leader and his wife is, in its own way, an attempt to fold a traditional cultural symbol into contemporary political messaging. Whatever its effect, the retrospective has become a fixture of official media coverage around the festival.
