Restaurants provide qixi set menus for those who want to turn this romantic time into a celebration of both love and food. Photo provided to China Daily

While the list of gourmet restaurants and kitchens helping couples celebrate qixi is long, the options for singles are just as appealing.

Red Wall Garden Hotel in central Beijing, well known for its strong Chinese style, is offering a qixi menu featuring both Chinese and Western cuisine in its courtyard bistro, and it is hosting an event for people to meet and share their opinions on stylish and artistic lifestyles through interactive games, a chance to meet the man or woman of their dreams.

Huoli, a Shanghai-based platform for people to share food events and socialize, is going to launch a set dinner on qixi for single women and men in Shanghai, so they can meet to share food, and perhaps share their lives in future.

Established chef Gao Danyi, who used to work for top gourmet restaurants, now operates a private kitchen. She will cook for 10 to 15 people on the romantic night, at a reduced price of 699 yuan per head.

The menu includes plenty of delicious delights, and there will also be a live jazz performance. Only single people are invited to join the party, says Jiang Yunjie, the founder of Huoli.

"We don't want to say it will be a blind date, but it is indeed a good opportunity to find a better half."