Each year on May 20, couples in China register for marriage or demonstrate their love for each other, as the way the date is pronounced in Chinese sounds similar to the words for "I Love You".

Given Shanghai's ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, some couples in the city are choosing to buy flowers online to celebrate the special day to reduce the risk of infection.

Pang Xueting, head of grocery store Dingdong Macai's Baotun Road distribution center in Huangpu district, told China Daily on Friday that they have received around 2,000 online orders for flowers every day since Monday.