Fancy eateries now offering budget lunches

Luxury hotels and high-end restaurants in Shanghai's central Jing'an district are becoming canteens for office workers amid central government calls for frugality and a crackdown on extravagance.

By this month, 180 dining spots in the district, one of the municipality's most prosperous, had signed up for the "White Collar Lunch" project, according to the Jing'an District Commercial Commission, which initiated the project.

It aims to provide affordable meals, priced at around 20 to 30 yuan ($3.20 to $4.80) on average, for the district's 200,000 white-collar workers and create business opportunities for restaurants facing a tough operating environment.