The number of attendees for the Shanghai edition vary between 600 to 1,500 each year, depending on the location. Tickets to the four-hour event, which also features live performances and an after party at the Bar Rouge club, are available in three tiers: 380 yuan ($55), 680 yuan and 1,990 yuan.

Those holding the 380 yuan ticket bring their own tables, chairs, tableware and food. Those with the mid-tier ticket only need to prepare their own food, while those with the most expensive option simply need to show up in white - the culinary team from the Mandarin Oriental Shanghai, Pudong prepares picnic boxes for them.

The Shanghai event, celebrating its fourth year, was spearheaded by Aymeric Pasquier, one of the founder's sons, and three of his local friends from the city. This year, upwards of 600 people signed up for the communal meal, with more than half identifying themselves as a local in their registration information, according to the organizer.

Event spokeswomen Chantal Blanchard said that the beauty of the banquet is its ability to foster a physical connection between people, something that has become a luxury in today's technology-driven world.

"Le Diner en Blanc is meant to gather people from different age groups, backgrounds and ethnicities," Blanchard said.

"It is especially true in places like New York, Montreal, and London, but in cities like Shanghai, we find that the demographic is much younger."

Among the younger attendees was Jin Mingxiu, a 19-year-old student from an international school in Shanghai. Jin said that her mother, who runs a jewelry shop on the Bund, bought two 1,990-yuan tickets in the hope of meeting more people.