About one million Shanghainese, 14 percent of the city's population, chose to dine out on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year on January 28, according to the Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration.

Around 100,000 restaurant tables were occupied as more and more people shunned the laborious preparation of traditional dishes at home - although lovers of tradition still prefer a family banquet under their own roof.

Much like Christmas in the West, Chinese New Year is predominantly a family affair, an occasion which normally revolves around a huge banquet of food prepared and enjoyed at home on the eve of the Spring Festival. 

(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2006)