| |
 |
Valentine's Day takes off
|
Yang Yunfei
ZHANG MIN was terribly disappointed when he walked out of a post office in downtown Shenzhen yesterday morning. The 32-year-old computer technician was told he could not send his wife a bouquet of roses for Valentine's Day, also known among Chinese as Lover's Day. It seems the postal service can't reach Jingyou, a small county in southwestern Sichuan where his beloved lives.
As local post offices only offer the flower delivery service to destinations in the country's major cities, people like Zhang have to seek other ways to express their love on the romantic day.
Foreign holidays are becoming increasingly popular in China, as more and more Chinese young people celebrate Christmas and Valentine's Day.
A survey conducted by the Social Survey Institute of China indicates that nearly 60 per cent of young people in China celebrate a foreign holiday to express their warm feelings for their families and friends.
Valentine's Day carries significance in Shenzhen, China's first special economic zone, as many of its residents are youths aged between 20 and 35.
Many romantic Shenzheners choose to fire the hearts of their beloved with a traditional gift like flowers and chocolate.
A staffer with a major post office in SZ said there has been a boom in the city's flower delivery business over the past three days.
He said that delivery of a single rose costs 50 yuan (US$6), plus a 70 yuan service fee, but “it is red hot". Some people even came to his office as early as Sunday for the delivery service, he said.
“Business is much better than last year," he said, ascribing the increase to more and more people's embracing of foreign holidays.
“Money can't buy you love on Valentine's Day, but it can buy you romance," said a young man who bought four roses for his girlfriend in Beijing.
“She'll love getting the roses," he said.
Strong demand for roses also pushed prices for the flower to record highs. The retail price of roses surged sharply from one to two yuan each to between 13 and 15 yuan.
Flowers are not the only gift idea.
Romantic text messages sent from mobile phones also join flowers, chocolates and candle-lit dinners as a novel way for couples to express their love
Local mobile phone operators expect the volume of Short Message Service (SMS) to jump as couples send each other lovey-dovey notes.
|
|
|
|
