Shanghai's subsidized lunches show proper spirit

Other than bankers and corporate executives with fat paychecks, most white-collar workers in downtown Shanghai find getting a decent meal for lunch an expensive proposition. Even if they are willing to put up with the cost, which ranges from 50 to 100 yuan ($8-16), they are likely to be frustrated by the difficulty in finding an available table in any eatery that doesn't put them off.

But help is at hand for the many thousands of people who work in the offices and retail stores in Jing'an district, one of Shanghai's oldest business and commercial centers. Mobilizing the available public- and private-sector resources, the Jing'an district authority has established several large-scale canteens in different locations to serve lunch at subsidized prices ranging from 15 yuan to 20 yuan.

At the canteen in Citic Square, for instance, a standard lunch set costs 18 yuan. A comparable set at any of the restaurants in the vicinity would cost 80 yuan.