A girl peers at a decorative sculpture of Santa Claus at a shopping mall in Shanghai. As more and more young Chinese gear up for something fancy and special during the Christmas holiday season, businesses are jostling to outdo one another to grab a slice of the festive pie. (newsphoto)

Christmas in China is increasingly accompanied by the jingling of bells.

But they have less to do with Santa's sleigh than the ringing of cash registers in hotels, restaurants, shopping centres, entertainment places and travel services.

While more and more young Chinese are gearing up for something fancy and special during the Christmas holiday season, businesses are jostling to outdo one another to grab a slice of the festive cake.

Though it is less than 10 days before Christmas, there is a mouthwatering choice of special festive deals from hotels, restaurants and shopping malls crammed to the roof with gift ideas.

As early as the beginning of December, nearly all star-level hotels promoted various Christmas Eve events and diners to attract a spoilt-for-choice population.

Most of the tickets for Christmas celebrations in Beijing's star hotels range from 800 yuan (US$96) per person to 2,000 yuan (US$241) per person, which may seem pricey in ordinary times.

But the tickets receive a hot response during the festive period.

Half of our hotel's tickets have been ordered, according to Tian Zhenwen, manager with the Food and Beverage Department of the Beijing Hotel, a notable five-star hotel along the Chang'an Avenue.

"And 90 per cent of the total have been booked by Chinese people," said Tian.

The highest price, so far, is a VIP ticket of 2,558 yuan (US$308) at the Tianlun Dynasty Hotel, which includes an one-night stay in a luxury suite, a grand dinner and Christmas performances in the hotel.

Insiders say that much higher prices are likely to occur soon, as last year's record in the capital city was 9,999 yuan (US$1,205) at the Huahui Jinrun Hotel.

"Actually, the cost of Christmas dinner, in general, is about 400 yuan (US$48). Most of the rest of the ticket price is used for paying for Christmas performances, decoration and advertisements," said a PR manager of Tianlun Dynasty Hotel, who declined to be named.

The payment for each performer increases six-fold on Christmas Eve. The cost for a Christmas performance ranges from 100,000 yuan (US$12,048) to 300,000 yuan (US$36,145).

(China Daily)

mouthwatering : pleasing to the sense of taste（令人垂涎的）