Restaurants ramp up catering ahead of Lunar New Year

Also joining the fray are a number of hotpot restaurants, which have been perennially popular throughout the year.

Apart from offering sit-down dinners, they also provide delivery and takeout arrangements. The meat and vegetables are all carved and sliced and packaged neatly. Together with condiments, they can be delivered with ease.

On major online shopping platforms, a search of the keyword "semi-prepared festival dinner" can render hundreds of results. They range in price from less than a 100 yuan to over 3,000 yuan.

Recently, Kunming launched a campaign to become a model city of food safety.

Local food and drug authorities have been conducting spot checks regularly to ensure the hygiene of the Lunar New Year's Eve offerings.