As the Chinese Spring Festival approaches, restaurants in Ningbo City, east China's Zhejiang Province, are seeing a surge in early bookings for Chinese New Year's Eve dinners, with popular private rooms fully booked well in advance.
The New Year's Eve dinner, when families gather to celebrate the Spring Festival, is regarded by some as the most important meal of the year for Chinese people, held on the eve of the first day of the Chinese New Year.
Xia Lijie, general manager of a restaurant in Ningbo, said their menu for this year's Chinese New Year's Eve centers on seafood, complemented by spicy dishes favored by younger diners and traditional Ningbo delicacies, aiming to cater to diners of all ages. The reservations are highly competitive, especially for private rooms, he said.
"We have 27 dining-tables in 26 private rooms, and all of them were booked by August or September of 2025," said Xia.
Tang Shoumei, general manager of another restaurant in Ningbo, confirmed that seats in both banquet halls and the main hall are in high demand.
"About 60 percent of our banquet hall reservations are already secured. The prices of the dishes this year are a bit more cost-effective than in previous years," said Tang.
To better accommodate the increasing number of families celebrating together, some restaurants are trying out staggered dining hours for the first time, effectively easing peak hours and ensuring a smoother celebration for all diners.
Restaurants in Ningbo see surge in bookings for Chinese New Year's Eve dinners
Residents living in Canada's biggest city of Toronto have expressed optimism that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China can unlock new economic opportunities, particularly in key fields such as artificial intelligence and infrastructure.
Carney is set to arrive in China on Wednesday to begin a four-day visit at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, marking the first trip by a Canadian prime minister to China since 2017.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with Carney during his stay to provide new strategic guidance for further improving and developing China-Canada relations.
Giving their assessment of the significance of the visit and the outcomes they hope to see achieved, local people in Toronto pointed to the importance of deepening cooperation and view the high-tech sector as one of the most pivotal areas where ties can be enhanced.
"I think, of course, China is probably the leader in AI and new technologies. So, I think Canada can really benefit from Chinese expertise on some of the chip manufacturing or just the use of AI in the medical field, in every other finance field and everything. So, I think this can be very important for Canada to learn from China," said Raman, the provincial liaison manager at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
"I think it is a good idea to strengthen relations with other countries and other trade partners that have been probably more consistent. And especially with things going on in electronics right now and chip manufacturing, I do think that it makes sense at this point in time to be reaching out to China," said Jen, a local nurse.
Some see Carney's visit as an opportunity to broaden the economic agenda in various other key areas.
"I'm actually pretty looking forward to it because they could talk a lot about trade. That could be a good opportunity for Canada and China to explore some other export opportunities on energy, and also, maybe pipeline building, infrastructure building, and also, real estate investment and agriculture," said Xiong Lulu, an equity research analyst.
Looking ahead, many residents emphasize that much depends on whether Carney's visit can translate into concrete agreements.
"It would be nice. I hope there's some kind of good relationship between China and Canada. That would be like a great opportunity that we would miss if we didn't create that relationship with them. So, hopefully, in hindsight, [in] 2026 it does happen," said John, a software developer.
"I think if they can settle some trade deals, that will be great. So, I think it will be great for the Canadian economy," said Xiong.
President Xi and Carney last met on the sidelines of the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in the Republic of Korea (ROK) in October, with both sides agreeing to resume exchanges and cooperation in various fields and jointly advance the development of the China-Canada strategic partnership.
Toronto residents optimistic about Canada-China cooperation prospects
