What is the name of the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner?

The Chinese New Year's Eve dinner is called the reunion dinner.

Known in Mandarin as tuányuán fàn or nián yè fàn, this meal brings extended families together before the new year begins. It is often held at the home of the family’s most senior member, although restaurants and large communal gatherings are also common.

The menu varies by region, but dumplings, fish, chicken, pork, hot pot, and other celebratory dishes frequently appear. Fish is especially symbolic because yú, the Mandarin word for fish, sounds like “surplus” or “余,” expressing the wish for abundance year after year. In northern China, dumplings may be eaten around midnight because their shape resembles ancient silver or gold ingots.

A common mix-up is to call this simply a “Chinese New Year feast.” That description is understandable, but reunion dinner is the established name for the specific New Year’s Eve family meal. The tradition also has parallels in other East and Southeast Asian cultures, including Vietnam’s year-end tất niên meal.