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)