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SHANGHAI, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's Singles' Day sales on TMall hit 10 billion yuan (about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars) at just three minutes past midnight on Saturday.
In 2016, the volume was achieved in six minutes and 58 seconds, according to Alibaba, owner of TMall.
November 11 has been celebrated as China's Single's Day since the 1990s. The date was chosen because 11-11 resembles four "bare sticks," the Chinese term for bachelor. Alibaba introduced the Single's Day shopping event in 2009.
As of 1 a.m. Saturday, transactions were made in 201 countries and regions, the top five being Japan, U.S., Australia, Germany and the Republic of Korea.
In 2016, Alibaba's Singles' Day sales totalled 120 billion yuan (about 18 billion U.S. dollars).
