A district government in northeastern China's Shenyang plans to
treat its poorer citizens to an extravagant dinner on Chinese New
Year's Eve, which falls on February 17.
Thursday's Beijing Evening News reports the Tiexi district
government will allocate three million yuan (US$383,631) to pay for
the dinner.
Eight dishes are slated to appear on the table, including dishes
made of soft-shelled turtles, perches and sea cucumbers. The report
says the dishes are only available in the city's high-end
restaurants.
Many citizens invited to the dinner were astonished to see such
luxury on offer when they had a preview of the menu on
Wednesday.
Statistics from the district government show nearly 10,000
poorer families live in the district.
(CRI December 29, 2006)