Restaurants expect business to boom at lunchtime on the Chinese New Year's Eve, as many people plan their family reunion dinners at noon rather than at night.

Restaurants in Shanghai surveyed on Monday said they would be busier during lunch rather than the evening on the lunar New Year's Eve on Wednesday.

Foreign students from the East China Normal University in Shanghai toast Yu Lizhong (center), the president of ECNU, at a dinner on campus celebrating the Chinese New Year, on Monday, February 4, 2008. More than 1,000 students and staff attended. (photo: Shanghai Daily)

The Yanyunlou Restaurant said all its rooms have been booked for lunch. The Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant said few people came for lunch last year, but this year most of its tables have been booked.

Customers said they might be rushed if they ate at night.

"It's also hard to find a taxi on New Year's Eve," said Chang Lili, a post-graduate student. "Elderly people in my family will not be able to stand waiting for a long time."

(Shanghai Daily Feburary 5, 2008)