Photos: Alibaba’s Pre-Singles Day Gala

As a lead up to the strike of midnight Alibaba aimed to keep China’s online shoppers awake and engaged. The Pre-Singles day gala put on by Alibaba and exclusively aired on Hunan TV engaged watchers and shoppers with a big night of entertainment. China Skinny was hosted by Alibaba to attend the big event and was able to soak up the buzz from the night. Below are some highlights from the Singles Day gala. Be sure to check back to find out more about the astonishing facts and figures from this years Singles Day.

The lead up to Singles Day was held for the first time in Beijing. The venue was the Watercube in the Olympic Village.

Fans waited in the cold to catch a glimpse of their favourite entertainers.

Quiet before the storm.

Shakers and shoppers both at the event and at home were kept engaged through their mobiles.

11.11 Branded Coca-Cola

Games and contests took place and watchers were encouraged to play along voting for red or black to be entered for a chance to win imported milk, bed sheets, robotic floor cleaner, a flight to America or one of eleven cars for 1RMB.