Houses of love boom on Valentine's Day

BEIJING - How can you make a loved one happy on Valentine's Day? Going shopping, to restaurants, or to the movies has fallen out of fashion. So an increasing number of couples in China's big cities have adopted an unconventional way of celebrating the annual holiday dedicated to lovers.

Many now choose to spend a night in so-called love hotels, where rooms often decked out with novelty furnishings can be rented cheaply and for a few hours at a time.

Ctrip.com, the leading online travel agency in China, said a large number of love hotels have double the number of rooms reserved for Monday than any other day of the year.