People take photos with the FIFA World Cup 2022 countdown clock near the corniche in Doha, Qatar, on Nov. 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Xu Zijian)

 
The 2022 Qatar World Cup kicked off on November 20, and consumption of party supplies including food and wine has seen a significant increase in China, according to multiple delivery platforms.

Fresh food retailer Hema told the Global Times on Thursday that the hotpot order volume increased by over 40 percent in the past week, and the semi-finished hotpot order volume doubled compared to the previous week. 

Beer is one of the necessities when watching the World Cup and some soccer fans even started to prepare their beer stocks in advance. Since the beginning of November, the sales volume of beer on Hema saw a 168 percent increase year-on-year.

A representative of Hema said that due to the time difference between China and Qatar, most games start around dinner time, which is the best time slot for selling food and beverages. 

Data from delivery platform Meituan showed that on the opening day of the World cup, the order volume for beer, beverages, snacks and fruit rose by 31 percent from the day before, and increased by 27 percent year-on-year, China News Agency reported. 

The World Cup also triggered a booking fever for hotel rooms. The number of hotel reservations for watching the event across the country on Sunday night, the opening ceremony of the World Cup, increased by more than 30 times month-on-month, according to data that Tongcheng Travel sent to the Global Times on Monday.

Shanghai, Changsha, Wuhan, Xi'an and Hangzhou were the cities with the most reservations, while Sanya was the city with the most expensive bookings, with each night costing more than 300 yuan ($42), Tongcheng said.