In Chinese ancient dramas and novels, there were already descriptions of choosing the bridegroom by means of throwing the Xiuqiu, thus, it can be seen that the custom of throwing the Xiuqiu to decide on ones lover existed everywhere in China, especially the love determining Xiuqiu in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has a strong characteristic of the ethnic group.
The Xiuqiu is a ball made of colored cloth or silk as big as a fist, with colored flowers and birds embroidered on it, and also connected to several colored strips. Stuffed with chaff or cottonseeds, the ball will generally be less than 0.5kg in weight with some color band and a hank of colorful silktassel attached. Its shape symbolizes the twelve months in a year: 12 pieces of petal-like cloth are knitted together, showing that happiness and love stay with every month and every year.
