The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl

Long long ago, there lived two gods in heaven — the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd. The Weaver Girl was the granddaughter of the Queen Mother of Heaven. She was very beautiful. The Cowherd was a handsome and kind young man. They fell in love in heaven.

But heaven had rules — gods were not allowed to love each other privately! The Queen Mother found out and was very angry. She banished the Cowherd to earth.

The Cowherd was reborn as a poor farmer. He became Cowherd. His parents were gone, and he lived with his older brother and sister-in-law. They treated him badly, making him herd cattle every day.

Cowherd only had an old ox for company. This ox was very kind to him.

One day, the old ox suddenly spoke! Cowherd was shocked. The ox said: "I am the Golden Ox Star from heaven, banished for breaking heaven's rules. I want to help you find a good wife."

The ox told Cowherd: "Tonight, go to the Lotus Pond. There will be fairy maidens bathing. Hide a red dress. The fairy who cannot find her dress will become your wife."

That night, under the bright moon, Cowherd hid in the lotus leaves. He watched seven fairy maidens descend from heaven and bathe in the pond.

Cowherd quietly took the most beautiful red dress. The other six fairies found their clothes and flew away. Only one fairy could not find her dress — the Weaver Girl.

Cowherd came out and asked her to be his wife. The Weaver Girl looked — this cowherd was actually her beloved Cowherd from heaven!

"It's you! It's really you!" The Weaver Girl was surprised and happy. Love conquered everything — she decided to stay on earth.

They got married and lived happily. "You plow the fields, I weave cloth" — Cowherd farmed, Weaver Girl wove beautiful silk. They even had two children — a son and a daughter.

But happiness didn't last.

One day, the old ox was dying. Before dying, it told Cowherd: "After I die, wear my ox skin and you can fly to heaven to see Weaver Girl. Remember, you can only use this skin once."

Soon after the ox died, the Queen Mother found out that Weaver Girl stayed on earth. She sent heavenly soldiers to take Weaver Girl back to heaven.

Cowherd was working in the field when he saw the soldiers taking his wife. He remembered the ox's words, put on the ox skin, took his two children, and ran after them.

"Weaver Girl! Weaver Girl!" Cowherd shouted. The children cried, "Mother!"

Just as they were about to meet — the Queen Mother appeared. She pulled out her golden hairpin and drew a line between Cowherd and Weaver Girl.

A rushing Milky Way (the galaxy) appeared — an impassable river separating them forever.

Weaver Girl cried heartbreakingly on the other side. Even the heavenly soldiers watching felt sad.

But the Queen Mother was moved by their love. She allowed Cowherd and the children to stay in heaven. Once every year — on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month — they could meet.

Every year on Qixi, all the magpies in the world fly to heaven and use their wings to build a Magpie Bridge. Cowherd carries his children, Weaver Girl walks from the other side — they meet on the bridge.

This is the Cowherd and Weaver Girl story — a story about love, separation, longing, and hope. It has been told for over 2,000 years.

"If love lasts forever, why must we be together day and night?"

— Qin Guan, "Magpie Bridge Fairy"

This story goes back over 2,000 years. At first, the Cowherd star and Weaver Girl star were just two stars in the sky — real constellations.

The Cowherd is the brightest star in Aquila (the Eagle), and the Weaver Girl is the brightest star in Lyra (the Lyre). They face each other across the Milky Way.

The earliest record is in China's oldest poetry collection, the Book of Songs (Shijing), written over 2,000 years ago.

During the Han dynasty, people started turning these two stars into lovers in their imagination. By the Jin dynasty, the story was connected to the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

The poet Du Mu wrote: "The palace steps are cool as water in the night sky, I lie watching the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars."

In 2006, Qixi Festival was listed as China's National Intangible Cultural Heritage. In 2008, the Cowherd and Weaver Girl legend was also listed.

Now Qixi is called "China's Valentine's Day" — but its origin is actually a romantic imagination about stars.

Did you know — Xi'an has the world's oldest Cowherd and Weaver Girl "sculptures"?

In 120 BC, Emperor Wu of Han built Kunming Pool to train his navy. He also had a romantic idea — he brought the stars to earth.

He had two stone statues erected — one of Cowherd on the east bank, one of Weaver Girl on the west bank.

These are over 2,100 years old! The oldest Cowherd and Weaver Girl sculptures in the world.

The statues still exist today. Made of granite, they're called "Stone Grandfather" and "Stone Grandmother."

In 798 AD, people built the Stone Grandmother Temple beside the Weaver Girl statue. Incense has been burning for over 1,000 years.

You can see these statues in Xi'an today. Standing in front of them, you see the same images people saw 2,100 years ago. You can even touch the stones!

Every Qixi, many couples come to the temple to pray for love. The temple walls are covered with red wish cards — people's hopes for romantic happiness.

Kunming Pool Qixi Park is right next to downtown Xi'an, a national 4A scenic area.

Best of all — FREE admission!

This park was built specifically to commemorate the Cowherd and Weaver Girl legend. Walking here, you'll find love themes everywhere —

🏛️ Qixi Lake — Designed like the Milky Way. At night, lights reflect on the water like a galaxy

🌉 Magpie Bridge — Bridge with magpie sculptures on both sides. Many couples take photos here

🏯 Stone Grandmother Temple — Houses the 2,100-year-old Weaver Girl statue. People pray here for love

💕 Love Post Office — Send postcards with special Qixi postmarks

📸 Romantic Flower Sea — Beautiful flower fields, perfect for photos

Every year during Qixi (usually August), there are big events and performances. Ancient-style activities, crafts, lantern prayers, boat tours — very lively!

From January to June 2026, over 21,900 international tourists visited — a 30% increase!

One foreign tourist said: "Why does Qixi attract foreigners? Because behind this festival is a beautiful love story — Cowherd and Weaver Girl can only meet once a year. This kind of romantic imagination can be understood by people all over the world."

🎫 Kunming Pool Qixi Park: Free admission, open all day

🚇 Transport: Take Xi'an Metro Line 3 directly, or bus 863/1120

📅 Best Time: Around Qixi (7th day of 7th lunar month, usually August)

🕐 Suggested Visit: 2-3 hours, great for sunset and night views

📱 Booking: Via "昆明池七夕公园" WeChat official account

One legend, different places telling the same story in different ways —

🏔️ Yiyuan, Shandong — "Hometown of the Cowherd & Weaver Girl Legend." Weaver Girl Cave (Tang Dynasty) and Cowherd Temple face each other across the Yi River. Over 300,000 tourists visit every Qixi.

⛰️ Tianhe Mountain, Hebei — "China's Love Mountain." Main peak 1,780m high, 90% forest coverage. Nine waterfalls, eighteen pools, Heart Cave, Rose Waterfall, Love Tree — over 20 romantic photo spots. Young couples come here for wedding photos.

🏛️ Yunxi, Hubei — Large Cowherd & Weaver Girl sculptures at Tianhe Square. "Yunxi Qixi" is National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Cowherd and Weaver Girl is one of China's Four Great Folk Legends (along with Liang Shanbo & Zhu Yingtai, White Snake, and Meng Jiangnu). But what makes it special?

First, it's a story about stars. Many cultures have star legends, but few have turned two stars into lovers with such a complete story.

Second, the story spans heaven and earth. Cowherd goes from god to mortal and back to heaven. It explores the eternal theme of love — even when separated, even when far apart, true love remains.

Third, "If love lasts forever, why must we be together day and night?" — this line reveals the essence of love: true love is not about being together every day, but about keeping each other in your heart.

That's why, even after 2,000 years, people are still telling this story. Because it touches everyone's longing for love — whether in China or abroad, whether in ancient times or modern.

More than 2,000 years have passed — the Milky Way is still there, the Cowherd star and Weaver Girl star are still there. The statues at Xi'an's Kunming Pool are still there, the incense at Stone Grandmother Temple still burns.

Every Qixi, people still make wishes under the Magpie Bridge and look up at the stars searching for the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars.

"From the Book of Songs to Qin Guan's poems, from Emperor Wu's statues to today's Qixi Park — Cowherd and Weaver Girl is China's most romantic gift of star imagination to the world."

Next time you visit Xi'an, don't just go see the Terracotta Warriors. Go to Kunming Pool — stand in front of the 2,100-year-old statues and see the world's most romantic love story.

Maybe you can also hold your loved one's hand, and on a Qixi night, look up together — see that Weaver Girl star, see that Cowherd star. They're right there, shining as brightly as they did 2,000 years ago.

If you listen quietly under a grapevine, you might even hear Cowherd and Weaver Girl whispering to each other...

"On Qixi night we gaze upon the blue sky, the Cowherd and Weaver Girl cross the river bridge. Every household prays to the autumn moon, threading through red silk tens of thousands of strands."

— Lin Jie, "Praying for Skill" (Tang Dynasty)

"If love lasts forever, why must we be together day and night?"

— Xi'an Kunming Pool · Origin of the Cowherd & Weaver Girl Legend —