A bunch of red roses is not such a surprising gift for Valentine's Day. But Zhang Hao, traveling from his home in London to Thailand to see his girlfriend on Feb 14, didn't have your average bunch of roses in mind.

Zhang planned ahead and rather than ordinary flowers, he bought roses that had been preserved using chemicals while fresh, and would stay that way for three to five years.

He ordered an 11-rose arrangement dubbed "Full of Love" on Taobao, China's largest online shopping site, on Feb 2. The roses themselves set him back 359 yuan ($54.6), much more than ordinary ones.