A hotpot restaurant in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region,recently invited sanitation workers to a free dinner as an expression of gratitude.

It was the sixth year the restaurant has provided free meals for workers to mark the Sanitation Workers Festival, which fell on Monday.

Around 10 o'clock in the morning, sanitation workers entered the shop one by one. The soup was boiling and mutton, beef, noodles, tofu and vegetables were already on the table.

"It's cold these days, but it's warm to have hotpot here," said Miao Xinjun, a sanitation worker from the city's Xingqing district. He said he has been doing the work for years. "We come to this restaurant for free hotpot every year for this festival. Thanks a lot!"

Miao added that many water stations and rest areas have been set up for workers by restaurants.