Three couples in Guangzhou hit the streets and started kissing (and hugging) on Monday this week in a performance art piece aimed at raising public awareness of the gay community and the many rights they don’t enjoy.

Organized by ChinaPride (@chinapride), an Internet-based non-profit organization serving the LGBT community, the kiss-in, set in and around Beijing Rd., also wrapped in calls for same-sex marriage to be legalized in China.

Predictably, the smoochfest drew quite a bit of attention from passers-by, but it also went viral across the Internet as photos and videos were posted on weibo and other platforms as the event happened in real-time.

The guys even set up a weibo account (@骄傲行动) specifically for the action, followed now by nearly 3,000 romantics.

We’re guessing early April was chosen for the kissing because any later and things could’ve gotten quite sweaty and gross, but also because April 1 is still widely observed each year throughout the Chinese-speaking world as the day gay icon Leslie Cheung jumped to his death in 2003, for reasons, that apparently still cannot be spoken of.

Check out the rest of their photos here.

Video: Same-sex kissing festival in Guangzhou