People hold the donated Spring Festival eve dinner and other gifts. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

The 17th edition of the Spring Festival eve dinner donation activity took place at Gengsu Theater in Nantong, Jiangsu province, on Feb 2, bringing together representatives of poverty-stricken families, elderly individuals without families, and dedicated takeout delivery personnel.

The venue buzzed with excitement as the bounteous Spring Festival eve dinners were distributed, including rice cakes, steamed stuffed buns, boiled salted duck, grilled chicken, Baipu yellow wine, and more. Each meal had a total value of over 400 yuan ($55.85).

Chen Songping, a native of Nantong, was delighted to receive the gift, saying that the food is really a timely help for his family and the caring gesture from the local government and others has provided inspiration and hope.

The Spring Festival eve dinner donated by Nantong's catering businesses and caring persons. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Yan Xiaonan, a takeout deliverywoman, described Nantong as a heartwarming city. Expressing her surprise she added, "It is such a considerate gift, and I feel more motivated."

As the Spring Festival, the most important festival for Chinese people, is approaching, many delivery personnel have returned their hometowns. However, Yan, as a Nantong native, still holds fast to her position, leaving her with no time to do Spring Festival Shopping.

Since 2007, catering businesses and compassionate individuals in Nantong have donated Spring Festival eve dinner and other gifts to 16,000 poverty-stricken families, hundreds of migrant workers, deliverymen, and sanitation workers. This year, both the number of beneficiaries and the quality of the dinner have seen further improvement.