Table for one please! More Chinese dine alone

BEIJING - In late 2017, a topic about Haidilao, the Chinese hotpot chain known for its exceptional service, trended on social networks: a Teddy bear was seated in front of a solo diner to keep them company.

But how "considerate" was this move? Many people argued that eating alone is an enjoyable moment of solitude and even a fact of life in today's China, rather than something to be pitied.

A recent report by market research group Kantar echoed the argument. Some 46 percent of the interviewees said they had eaten alone in the past 24 hours, up 9 percent from 2017.