However, some analysts said that the figures for January were distorted by the change in the timing of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Valentine's Day is almost as dear to the Chinese as the Lunar New Year, but they view it primarily as an opportunity for men to demonstrate their worthiness and commitment.
It might be too early to call a serious slowdown in the Chinese recovery as the latest data may have been affected by the Lunar New Year, a period that is often associated with a sharp increase in the price of food and other goods, which occurred in January in 2012 and February in 2013.
The World Luxury Association, when it reported the Mainland spending plunge during the lunar new year period, stated that purchases by Chinese overseas rose 18%.
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February same store sales actually inched up 2% in China, on the back of flat numbers at KFC and a 13% surge in Pizza Hut, as Chinese consumers ramped up purchases around the Lunar New Year.
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The Museum of Chinese in America kicks off its Lunar New Year Family Festival on 2 February with performances by local dancers, kid-centric Mandarin workshops, hands-on arts and crafts projects and a chance to learn more about Chinese holiday customs and rituals.
Lunar New Year, the most important holiday in Chinese culture, falls on 10 February this year.
Chinese markets will be closed all next week for the Lunar New Year holidays, while Hong Kong will be dark Monday through Wednesday.
If you mine the newspaper archives for last year, or the year before (well, not exactly, you need for Chinese New Year, which being based on a lunar calendar is a movable feast) you will see many a story about how factories were desperately short of the labour they needed in the big Chinese manufacturing towns.
As both countries celebrate the Lunar New Year starting this weekend, South Korea is expecting a 25% jump in the number of Chinese visitors from last year's holiday period.
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