2017年CRI Diversified cuisine reflects more tolerant during Chinese new year（在线收听）

Eating - especially with family and friends - forms the center of almost every Chinese celebration and Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, is no exception.

The only decision left to make then is where to eat!

The choice has never been greater, with just about every taste catered for and every cuisine available.

No wonder then, as CRI's Min Rui discovered, the latest trend in Tianjin is to 'Eat Foreign' on Lunar New Year eve.

There is no doubt that the Lunar New Year eve is the most important time of the year for Chinese people to enjoy a family reunion.

Normally, Chinese families gather together, make dumplings, and have a fest while watching a gala on TV.

But this year some people are choosing to dine out at a foreign restaurant.

25 year old Tianjin resident, Dai Bin, is one of them.

"I'm from the northeastern part of China. This is the first time for me to celebrate the Chinese New Year without going back to my hometown. I'm not good at cooking so I'll be dining out. I think I'll go have pizza just like usual at weekends, and have some beer with friends. "

Dai Bin says he is not the only one to opt out of the traditional migration during the spring festival.

Tianjin is no stranger to foreign cuisine, as it was a trade concession before the Second World War, and so became home to foreign restaurants of various styles.

The past three decades of China's opening up, has seen the rapid spread of many foreign fast food companies.

McDonald's already has approximately 2,200 outlets in China, with Pizza Hut offering 1600 stores across 400 Chinese cities.

Despite the robust growth of fast food chains, fine dining has not been left behind.

Shortly before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Mr. Renato Pegoraro from Italy decided to create a small oasis of traditional Italian flavors opening the Venezia Club.

Even today, the restaurant bar is still the only restaurant in the city of Tianjin with an Italian owner, and is favored by many local people.

He says for the upcoming lunar New Year, his restaurant bar has a lot to offer, especially for Chinese customers.

"We prepared for the Chinese new year festival something new. We prepared a new menu about food, a new menu about drink. We have some booking from foreign people, but also from Chinese. Because we have a lot of customers, that come frequently. Many for eight or night years…"

He says they've build up a solid customer base through years of hard work.

The Tianjin Quanjian Football Club even chose his restaurant as the official supplier of food products and as a consultant.

From fast food to fine dining, Chinese people's tastes have changed dramatically over time. The diversification of food is a signal of China's inclusiveness, which is a good thing. People may have different values, but all people love food.

There is a saying that the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. No matter who you are and what you do, at the end of the day, we all like to enjoy a tasty meal and get a good sleep.

For CRI, I'm Min Rui.