LANZHOU, Dec. 29 -- A wedding banquet in northwest China's Gansu Province has sickened 94 people since Saturday in a suspected food poisoning, local authorities said Sunday.

Officials with the Pingchuan District of Baiyin City said 94 diners suffered from nausea and diarrhea after they feasted at a wedding banquet at a hotel on Saturday noon.

Among them, 54 people were hospitalized and 40 others were under medical observation. Three hospitalized patients have been discharged as of Sunday night, officials said.

Local authorities have launched a food safety inspection in the district following the incident, whose cause is under investigation.

Chinese weddings feature large and sometimes extravagant banquets, and some rural areas have the tradition of holding banquets that last for days and are attended by hundreds.