Send in the clowns

Cao Chengwei delivers flowers in a clown suit and performs tricks at a Beijing supermarket, for a customer. Jiang Dong / China Daily

Gu Yidian's flower shop, Chujian, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, presents bouquets in which flowers form words of love. Provided to China Daily

When you have not one, but two special days for lovers in a year, you need to get really creative to surprise your beloved one. Xu Lin reports.

Xiang Yingxia was surprised at work recently by a man dressed in a clown suit and sporting a red nose. He presented her with a bouquet of red roses, and it was only then that she realized that her boyfriend had sent her a gift for her birthday, by special delivery. Cao Chengwei, 24, the clown with the red nose, had more tricks up his sleeve.

While Xiang's colleagues gathered to watch the delightful scene unfolding, Cao placed a red, heart-shaped sponge into her right hand, and told her to clench tight. When Xiang slowly opened her palm again, there were two little red hearts in her hands.

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"That means you and your boyfriend's hearts will always be together," Cao announced.

"It's such a happy surprise! I like it because it's very creative," the delighted Xiang, 24, said.

As an increasing number of Chinese celebrate Qixi on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month today, Xiang will not be the only lady surprised by such happy messengers. Flower shop owners all across the country have come up with special services to deliver more than flowers, already regarded as the best expressions of love on a Chinese festival devoted to lovers.

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"When I see my customers happy, I'm happy," says Song Feifan, who came up with the idea of sending clowns to deliver flowers a few years ago. It has proved a great success and since his first flower shop opened in 2006, his business has developed into a chain of 16 outlets not only in the capital Beijing, but also in Hefei in Anhui province and Nanjing in Jiangsu province. He employs dozens of delivery specialists, including our happy clown, Cao.