A child displays a tie which he made for his father as a gift for this year's Father's Day at Zhonghuancheng kidergarten in Hefei City, east China's Anhui Province, June 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Guo Chen)

Sunday marks Father's Day, an occasion that is supposed to be a counterpart of equal importance to Mother's Day in May. However, with posts from "humble" fathers who say they've had to buy gifts for their children on Father's Day or grumbling about being ignored going viral on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, it seems many fathers have been left out in the cold this holiday. 

While Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and JD tend to hype up Mother's Day every year, Father's Day tends to be less commercialized and also gets less attention from netizens in China, leaving some fathers complaining about an imbalance. 

"Makeup and flowers - those are things people link to Mother's Day, I get it. But, I just can't think any particular thing that is known for Father's Day. Actually, sadder than that, I got nothing at all, only just a text from my daughter, and haven't even heard from my son yet," Zhong, a dad in Chongqing, told the Global Times on Sunday morning. 

"I'm not going to buy my dad a gift, because I feel he doesn't seem to need anything particular from me… and if I buy him something he truly likes, like alcohol, my mom would scold me… he is not going to be sad anyway," Yueyue, a 27-year-old daughter, told the Global Times on Sunday.  

While the fact that dads are often seen as having to be "self-reliant" or "laid back" may be the reasons that people don't take the day more seriously, fathers also seem to be less loved when it comes to entertainment works such as films.

On Your Mark, a father-themed Chinese film that debuted in Chinese mainland cinemas on Friday, has been highly anticipated, but it only earned less than 14 million yuan (2.16 million) on its first day, a far cry from the more than 2 billion yuan mother-themed blockbuster Hi, Mom earned at the box office during its premiere. 

"Besides the comparison between the two films' production, cast, or things like that, the father in the movie itself is more difficult to portray than a mother. Also audiences get less emotionally involved as a father's emotions are more reserved and deep," Zhuang Xun, a film and acting expert, told the Global Times. 

Though Father's Day seems to be bleaker than the holiday for moms, one Sina Weibo post in particular inspired people to praise fathers' reticent but generous love and encouraged them to express their feelings to their fathers. 

"I sort of neglected to prepare a gift for my dad since I was busy caring for our newborn. I told him a gift is on the way, but I didn't expect he'd come to my place and bring me my favorite shaver on Father's Day," the post read. 

"That's true though, I really don't need an actual gift from my children, but a call will do just fine," said Zhong.