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Impress Your St. Valentine’s Day in Beijing

Celebrating St. Valentine’s Day, or “lovers’ day,” is increasingly popular in Beijing, but it will be even more so this year because it comes during the Spring Festival holiday. Many hotels and restaurants in Beijing will offer special promotions and candlelit dinners for lovers, but some may want to do even more for loved ones. So here are a few ideas that may help enrich your St. Valentine’s Day.

Flowers, rings and chocolates are typical lovers’ day gifts and appropriate gifts for loved ones of any age are easy to find in key shopping areas such as Wangfujing and Xidan. The Malls at Oriental Plaza and Sun Dong An Plaza in Wangfujing, SCITECH Plaza, the China World Shopping Mall, the Youyi Shopping City, Beijing Lufthansa Center and Beijing Full-link Plaza in Chaoyang District and Chong-you Department Store in Xidan are fashionable, luxurious and come with high-quality service.

To buy great chocolate treats, try Carrefour (five in Beijing), Wal-Mart (for members only), Pricemaster, and local stores such as Watsons, Huarun and Likelong. If you have time, take a walk along Dongdan Dajie, but prepare to be astonished at the numerous and delicate gifts available there in dozens of small stores. For flowers, see our recommendations on page 24-25 of this issue of BTM.

If you are pressed for time, call the hotel you stay and order a cake or other treat. Almost all the four- and five-star hotels in Beijing make tempting cakes and other desserts at this special period of time; some have special shopper services who can help with gift purchases.

Traditional Chinese clothes or silk bags bearing traditional Chinese patterns are options. Ruifuxiang on Wangfujing Avenue, Shanghaixu in the China World Shopping Mall (NB109), Muzhenliao in Sun Dong An Plaza, Gege in the Wangfujing Department Store and Xuanseyishang in The Malls at Oriental Plaza offer the most famous brands for traditional Chinese clothes. You will be dazzled by the luxurious silk bags and silk-related gadgets with complex embroideries you will find at the Emperor in The Malls at Oriental Plaza. For those in a hurry, most four- and five-star hotels have shops offering high-quality clothing, jewelry and special treats.

Hiersun, 18k gold rings with diamonds, 999 yuan for a couple.

A great variety of chocolates line the shelves of Beijing’s supermarkets.

A delicious cake made by the Peninsula Palace Hotel.