Restaurants across China are embracing a surge in reservations for the Lunar New Year's Eve dinner with the traditional Spring Festival around the corner.

In Suzhou City of east China's Jiangsu Province, staff of a long-standing restaurant said that all private rooms and hall tables at its six Suzhou branches are fully booked for the "Lesser New Year", which falls on the 23rd day of the last lunar month in northern China and the 24th in southern China, and for New Year's Eve, the last day of the lunar year.
In response to the influx of reservation requests, the restaurant has re-planned the hall area to add more dining spots.
"With more 'new citizens' choosing to stay in Suzhou for the New Year's Eve, we've adjusted our menu and introduced a smaller meal combo for four to six people. We've also focused on promoting our signature dishes like Squirrel Fish, as well as seasonal winter vegetables like winter bamboo shoots and Suzhou cabbage," said Ha Chengxiong, a staffer of the restaurant, attributing the surge to the fact that more "new citizens", those who migrated from other regions, chose to celebrate the Spring Festival in Suzhou instead of returning to their hometowns.
In addition to traditional restaurants, farm-to-table restaurants have also become a popular choice for New Year's Eve revelers.
In Changxing County of Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, a farm restaurant has adopted a time-slot reservation system to meet the high demand.
"There has been an influx of reservation requests for this year's New Year's Eve dinner. The hall tables and private rooms for 'lesser New Year' and Lunar New Year's Eve celebrations have all been booked out," said Li Ling, manager of a local farm-to-table restaurant.