Although the customs of eating fish during the Spring Festival have had a long history， they are different in different areas， three gorges area is one of the distinctive areas.

Chongqing is the most important city in three gorges area. For Chongqing people， a fish dish is indispensable in the family reunion dinner. This fish dish is very particular. The fish must be a whole one because as a mascot， fish symbolizes "having a beginning and an end and surplus every year". The fish dish is usually steamed whole fish， braised whole fish in soy sauce， or steamed whole fish with diced hot red peppers. Size of the whole fish should be almost the same with the plate， variety of the whole fish varies according to changes in the aquaculture industry and the living standards. Carp， grass carp， and crucian were used to be selected， however， with the development of the aquaculture industry and the improvement of the living standards， blunt-snout bream， longsnout catfish， schizothorax， sturgeon， turbot， grouper， etc. are widely used today.

In Western Chongqing， fish is also an indispensable dish in the New Year's Eve family dinner， and there must be more fish cooked， indicating "surplus". Fish head and tail should be left until next year （beginning of next year） to express the wish of "having a beginning and an end" when eating fish at family dinner on lunar New Year's Eve. In Yibin of Sichuan Province， besides piggy-shaped dessert， cock chicken， there must be fish in New Year's Eve family dinner， and there may be fish balls， symbolizing "surplus every year and unity and happiness".