A growing number of people are eating alone, whether at home or in restaurants, and overturning traditional etiquette. Zhang Yangfei reports.

In China, food has always played a major role in promoting social cohesion. Communal eating is not only familybased and deeply rooted in the nation's cultural heritage, but is also regarded as an indicator of society's health and stability.

Given that background, it is little wonder that eating alone, publicly or privately, has long been considered taboo.

However, in recent years things have started to change as a result of demographic shifts and the growing influence of modern lifestyles.

According to a report released last year by the global market researcher Kantar, 46 percent of people interviewed said they had eaten alone in the previous 24 hours, a rise of 9 percent from 2017, and about 16 percent expressed a preference for eating solo.