Expats gather for a meal at Beyti Restaurant in Yiwu, Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to Tide News]
More than 70 international restaurants in Yiwu will remain open during the Spring Festival holiday, offering a global take on the traditional Chinese New Year's Eve dinner.
At Beyti Restaurant in Choucheng subdistrict, demand has risen for a newly introduced Middle East-style Chinese New Year's Eve set dinner menu. Owner Mohannad Shalabi said the meal, designed for nine to 10 people, combines classic Middle Eastern dishes with items favored by Chinese diners for their festive symbolism.
Shalabi's restaurant employs chefs from Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan and offers approximately 360 dishes. Popular items include stuffed flatbread, lamb leg rice, and lemon shrimp. Private rooms for Chinese New Year's Eve have been fully booked, he said, with some expats hosting Chinese friends for reunion dinners.
Exterior of Beyti Restaurant. [Photo/Geng Feifei for China Daily]
Choucheng subdistrict has the highest concentration of foreign restaurants in Yiwu, with many having introduced festive decorations and holiday menus in preparation for the peak season.
Yiwu has established Zhejiang's first international catering service center to support foreign restaurant operators and issued the province's first local standard for international catering management and services. Over the past three years, the number of foreign-invested catering businesses in the city has increased by nearly 50 percent to more than 500.
In 2025, Yiwu's international dining establishments recorded more than 7 million visits, with total revenue exceeding 700 million yuan ($101.31 million), up more than 20 percent year-on-year.
Yiwu launched its Spring Festival consumption season on Feb 9, with international cuisine positioned as a key attraction. Restaurants representing 18 national cuisines, including Indian and Turkish, will operate throughout the holiday.
