Restaurants expect business to boom at lunchtime on the Chinese
New Year's Eve, as many people plan their family reunion dinners at
noon rather than at night.
Restaurants in Shanghai surveyed on Monday said they would be
busier during lunch rather than the evening on the lunar New Year's
Eve on Wednesday.
Foreign students from the
East China Normal University in Shanghai toast Yu Lizhong (center),
the president of ECNU, at a dinner on campus celebrating the
Chinese New Year, on Monday, February 4, 2008. More than 1,000
students and staff attended. (photo: Shanghai
Daily)
The Yanyunlou Restaurant said all its rooms have been booked for
lunch. The Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant said few people came for
lunch last year, but this year most of its tables have been
booked.
Customers said they might be rushed if they ate at night.
"It's also hard to find a taxi on New Year's Eve," said Chang
Lili, a post-graduate student. "Elderly people in my family will
not be able to stand waiting for a long time."
(Shanghai Daily Feburary 5, 2008)