People prepare food in a snack shop in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo/IC]

A new report shows that China's catering business ended a three-year downturn in 2014, with the sector posting 9.7 percent increase in growth.

The report, issued by China Hotel Association, said individual spending on restaurants in 2014 accounted for 80 percent of the total revenue of about 2.8 trillion yuan ($450 billion).

Han Ming, head of China Hotel Association, told the reporter that hotpot, fast food and western cuisines restaurants have seen steady growth while high-end restaurants have experienced a downward trend.

The report said that among all, Guangdong, Shandong and Jiangsu are the top three regions where restaurant business earned over 200 billion yuan last year.