Editor\u2019s Note: Sign up for CNN\u2019s Meanwhile in China newsletter which explores what you need to know about the country\u2019s rise and how it impacts the world.<\/a><\/p>\n During China\u2019s go-go years, young couples holding enormous bouquets of roses were a familiar sight during the Qixi Festival, an ancient holiday celebrating love and loyalty.<\/p>\n People would flock to social media to show off brand-new iPhones and\u00a0<\/strong>Louis Vuitton handbags gifted by their partners, as well as photos of dinners at fancy restaurants, during the Chinese version of Valentine\u2019s Day, which typically falls in July or August each year.<\/p>\n That was when China<\/a>\u2019s economic growth was the envy of the world. This year\u2019s festival was on Saturday, and it was a very different story. People went online to complain about the lack of gift giving and festive spirit, citing a sluggish economy and tough job market.<\/p>\n The hashtag \u201cconsumption plummets on Chinese Valentine\u2019s Day. Are young people unwilling to pay the love tax?\u201d became the No 1 trending topic on the Weibo platform on Saturday, drawing 200 million views.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Qixi Festival is not as robust as previous years. It feels almost desolate,\u201d one user wrote.<\/p>\n Owners of some flower shops took to Xiaohongshu, another popular platform, to bemoan the lack of customers, posting images of unsold roses lining their stores. CNN was not able to independently confirm their claims.<\/p>\n Other posts recalled forlornly that couples used to have money to spend when the world\u2019s second largest economy was doing well. China\u00a0is currently plagued by a litany of woes from sluggish consumer spending<\/a>\u00a0 to a\u00a0persistent property slump<\/a>\u00a0and a\u00a0mounting debt crisis.<\/a><\/p>\n Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said that young people, who used to be big spenders during Qixi, are struggling to find jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the overall sentiment is very bad and consumers are very conservative,\u201d he said, adding that the negative sentiment has become \u201cthe overall pattern\u201d and \u201cnot just one festival.\u201d<\/p>\n The anecdotal drop in spending appears to align with the \u201cweak-consumption trend witnessed over the past two years,\u201d said market strategist Yeap Jun Rong from trading provider IG, adding that China\u2019s consumer confidence is \u201chovering around its record low.\u201d<\/p>\n How China\u2019s lovers behave is an issue for global businesses \u2014 and the government in Beijing. In recent weeks, a number of Western multinationals, from cosmetics giant L\u2019Oreal to carmaker Volkswagen, have sounded the alarm over weak demand in China as consumer confidence remains in the doldrums.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n