Now is the time for love, or at least Qixi Festival, the Chinese Valentine's Day, which falls Thursday. On the Chinese lunar calendar, the seventh day of the seventh month used to be a time when young women hoped for domestic skills and art, particularly weaving.

The festival is based on a traditional Chinese legend that on one night each year, Zhi Nü, a weaver and daughter of the Emperor of Heaven, is allowed to meet her husband Niu Lang, a mortal and cowherd, on the Milky Way.

As these stories have been told and retold, meanings have become blurred. But most people simply use this tradition to spend a romantic day together and demonstrate their love to their sweetheart.

 As surprises are irresistible for men and women, special occasions like Qixi are a great time to purchase a creative gift for your significant other.

Live fireflies

If you live in the bustling metropolis, you can still imagine a peaceful, countryside night with your partner, with fireflies dancing around you.

On China's popular online shopping website taobao.com, live fireflies have become recent hot items. Fireflies are sold by the number, though each shop may set a minimum requirement of 20 fireflies.

 Each firefly costs about four yuan ($0.63). These delightful insects are sold in a box packed with leaves.

A seller based in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province told the Global Times that fireflies can survive for about a week, without having anything to eat or drink, as long as the temperature remains about 25 degrees Celsius.

The company transports the fireflies by coach, to ensure that customers receive the fireflies within two days. For remote cities, delivery may take up to three days. Some sellers give an additional 10 percent fireflies, in case some die along the way.

To ensure the longest lifespan for your fireflies, do not put the box directly under the sun or in a place with no light at all. Fireflies perform at their peak from 8pm to 12pm, and sellers suggest that customers release them immediately.

Homestar projector

A special projector will help you see a starry sky regardless of how polluted or smoggy it is outside.

Luo Wenxing, who sells star projectors in Guangdong Province, said they function like normal projectors.

Designed by Japanese company Sega Corporation, the projector, when charged with electricity, projects a three-meter diameter round image onto the ceiling or wall, making you feel like you are in space. 

Customers can choose from three images: Single-color sky, multi-color sky, or a sky with constellations.

The projector can also be set to different dates, so images reflect the constellations accordingly, to the time period.

There are a variety of other choices, including the Homestar Aurora, which imitates the aurora lights, the Homestar Travel, which shows the starry sky in different cities around the world, and the Homestar Spa, which is set in water and makes deep sea colors.  Prices for the projector range from 4,000 to 6,000 yuan.

Capturing the sun 

Feel lonely and cold at night? Feel guilty because you cannot be by your lover's side? The Sun Jar, developed by Suck UK, delivers sunlight for a mere 20 pounds ($31.42). 

Though simple and small, it contains the "sun" for your significant other.

The secret lies in the solar panel on the jar's neck, which absorbs sunlight during the daytime, converting it into electricity. With electricity stored in the battery, the bulb in the jar will emit sunlight at night, as if the sun is contained in the jar. 

During cloudy days, when the sunlight is not strong enough, you can use a normal battery charger to charge the battery.

If the sunlight is too strong and you prefer gentle light, you can try choosing a moon jar, the Sun Jar Blue.

Bank of Love

If you think money is the only thing you can put in a bank, you're wrong. The Bank of Love now provides a place for you to deposit your love. It may seem silly for adults, but it's a cute concept if one is not averse to being childish.

Resembling a normal deposit book you get from a bank, a set includes one deposit book and two check books, one for each partner. 

Before depositing your love in the bank, decide on the rules. For example, remembering your lover's birthday accounts to 10 love points; helping with housework is 20 love points. This is written down in the deposit book, alongside the love points accumulated.

The check books can be used to fulfill your "demands" on your lover by withdrawing love points from the bank.

Such written demands can be: "Accompany me when I am shopping and help me carry the bags," with a specified amount of love points. 

When one person receives an amount of love points, rewards are given, like a free massage. Agreements can be listed in the deposit book, before starting the game.

It is better to have agreements on point value, as well. This gift comes at 45 yuan a set.