Feast on love

Qixi Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on Aug 2 this year, and as Ye Jun reports, many of the capital's top restaurants are offering fantastic deals for couples wanting a special night out.

Restaurants in Beijing are using Qixi Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day, as an opportunity to promote set menus for couples wanting to celebrate the festival with a meal. Steakhouse Flamme has introduced a special Qixi menu at both its Sanlitun and Indigo branches. "There has been a lot more business on the day in Sanlitun," says Lei Yiyang, the restaurant's marketing manager. Last year, Qixi Festival witnessed Sanlitun's restaurants fill up and the streets become noisy, just like they do on Feb 14, Western Valentine's Day, Lei says.

Qixi originates from a Chinese fairy tale. It is a love story between a goddess and a cowherd. They are said to only be able to meet each other on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, which this year falls on Aug 2.