A pre-Luner New Year fair is held at Shungeng Conference Center in Jinan. Pictured are locals shooping for cured meats.Lawei, orcured meats, are eaten during the reunion dinner on the Eve. [Photo/Xinhua]

Shopping for Lunar New Year

Visitors enjoy "Little New Year" in Qianmen

Festive dishes around town

Online shopping allows her to avoid the supermarket crowds loading up for the Spring Festival, and she doesn't have to wait in line at the counters.

With the development of cold-chain logistics, such fresh foods as seafood, meat and fruits can be efficiently delivered to the doorstep, allowing even inland homes to enjoy seafood feasts.

From Jan 2 to 6, Taobao.com offered more than 80 discounted items especially for the Lunar New Year.

About 30,000 buyers visited the website on the first day, and the three most popular goods were Chinese dates, chocolates and organic walnuts.

Liu says that, compared to when she was a child, there are now various foods and snacks for the festival. And she only has to choose her favorites.

Imported chocolate is not a traditional Spring Festival food but has become an important snack during the festival.

Zhu Ailing, a 53-year-old accountant from Hubei province's Qianjiang, is a diehard online shopping fan.

Like many consumers, she buys hard-to-get regional produce online, and only gets local products from the supermarkets because there are more choices.

"I don't have much time to visit the supermarket, but I can surf the Internet at work. Online shopping is perfect for me," she says.

Zhu bought agaric mushrooms, imported milk and red wine online, and got sausages and meatballs from her local market.

She says food items for the festival are more diversified than a decade or two ago.

Zhu is relieved she doesn't have to prepare snacks like sesame candy herself. Instead of slaving in the kitchen from dawn to dusk, she can now get everything her family needs online.

"It's very convenient. Even if you're not happy with the goods, all you have to pay is about 10 yuan ($1.65) to return them," she says.

Taobao.com's research reveals other trends.

After Jan 1, sales of traditional door couplets rose - the same happened with the traditional red paper-cuts used to decorate doors and windows.

Data also show an increased awareness of environmental protection. The search volume for electronic firecrackers on Taobao.com rose by 149.3 percent compared with the same period of 2013.

As heavy smog continues to shroud many places in China, including Beijing, Hebei province, Shanghai and Jiangsu province, many agree that firecrackers should be avoided because they're pollution sources. A better awareness of quality and health seem prevalent as well.

Zhu says: "I bought red wine online, which is better for health compared with distilled spirits. Also, I bought some sugar-free cookies - perfect for the diabetes patient in the family."