Beer Lady

Saturday, August 18, 2007

The city’s international beer festival continues to grow in its own quirky Chinese way. Dinah Gardner joins the party

It seems a bad idea to pair a beer festival – where the drinking of copious amounts of alcohol is encouraged – with an amusement park. But this is China, after all, where children often come first.

The now well-established Qingdao International Beer Festival kicked off 16 days of hearty brew swilling last Saturday in the grounds of a massive amusement park. Strip-lit beer tents hulk under the neon glow of roller coasters, ferris wheels and a gut-wrenching pirate ship ride. Many Chinese who brought a ticket to the event at Qingdao’s Beer City – 10 yuan (HK$10.30) to 20 yuan per day – bring the family. While parents knock back the steins, children drink Coke or water, play with glow sticks and dance in the aisles.

The mascot is another example of the festival’s, perhaps, inappropriate melding of booze promotion with child-focused attractions. Benben is a chubby cartoon pig in white gloves and a natty blue sailor suit. He carries a beer barrel like a schoolboy with a satchel. The piggy mascot has nine bizarre postures including “be drunk,” “drink my fill” and “academic exchanges” according to local media.

The festival, now in its 17th year, is the last one before this eastern coastal city plays host to the 2008 Olympic Games’ sailing and windsurfing events. Organizers told The

Weekend Standard that next year’s beerfest will be held as normal in the second week
of August even though it will clash with the Olympics. So while all eyes are focused on Beijing, Qingdao is using the festival and its annual sailing regatta as a way to put itself on the world map ahead of the games. Even the beer festival’s motto this year stresses the city’s international aspirations – “Qingdao – ganbei with the world!” Ganbei is Chinese for bottoms up or cheers (literally dry glass).

So how does it compare with the big international beer festivals, such as Germany’s Oktoberfest?

Harald Stegman, a Bavarian businessman who sells machinery in China, says: “Well, it’s not the same as in Germany where everyone dances up on the tables, night and day. Everywhere is packed.”

It’s mid-afternoon on the first day of the Qingdao festival. Outside, the rain is pouring; the ground by now flooded and muddy. Inside the tent there are maybe several dozen people sitting quietly; some drinking beer but most eating barbecued meats and snacks.

“We are happy. OK it is raining but here we have beer,” Stegman smiles. He is drinking a 5.7 percent proof Weihenstephaner brew.

“We only drink Bavarian beer,” he says. “It’s stronger than Chinese beer. And we want to drink a lot!”

According to the festival organizers there will be 45 different beers on sale, including China’s own Tsingtao, first brewed in the city by German settlers 104 years ago, Budweiser from the United States, Japan’s Asahi and Denmark’s Carlsberg. The bulk of the other beers, though, appear to come from Germany. As well as Weihenstephaner, the world’s oldest brewery, Munich’s Paulaner and top selling brewer Bitburger are also represented.

Despite the strong German presence there’s no mistaking the Qingdao Beer Festival for anything but a Chinese affair. The entertainment – each beer tent, roughly one per brewer, has a stage – is heavily geared towards a local audience. Most popular are the crooners who belt out Chinese love and pop songs, transforming the tents into giant karaoke parties as the evening wears on.

There are also lucky draws, magic performances, auctions, bikini fashion shows featuring dispirited models, Michael Jackson impersonators, and the most spectacular – a whirlwind acrobatic Shaolin kung fu dance. Attendance is also heavily local. In the first weekend, only a smattering of Westerners could be seen. Staff are almost all Chinese, with the occasional busty Bavarian barmaid spilling out of her bodice collecting glasses.

Locals are proud of their festival and proud of their beer. So much so that some said they would only drink Tsingtao at the event.

Yang Kai, a 25-year-old vendor serving barbecued squid at the festival, says he won’t be drinking anything but the local brew: “It’s got to be Tsingtao,” he laughs. “My grandfather drank it. My father drank it. My whole family drinks it. So of course that’s the beer I’m going to drink here.”

Gu Xiagang, a local taxi driver also says he prefers Tsingtao to famous German brands. “I like Tsingtao beer because I’m used to it,” he says. “It’s a great beer.”

Last year 1,300 tonnes of the liquid amber were swilled at the festival, according to organizers. It’s another sign that China’s beer market is growing rapidly as incomes rise. Even though Chinese per capita don’t drink much beer – local rice wine or baijiu remains the tipple of choice – China’s immense population has made it the world’s largest consumer, with some 35 million tonnes of beer drunk in the country last year. And that trend is growing – sales rose 16 percent year-on-year in 2006. Some big international players have also invested heavily in the mainland’s beer market in recent years. The US’ Anheuser-Busch has a 27 percent share in Tsingtao, while SABMiller controls 49 percent of China Resources Snow Breweries, now the mainland’s largest brewer by sales volume and production.

Despite the drink’s growing popularity nationwide, festival-goers were not knocking back the pints en masse during the festival’s opening weekend. Many groups bought a single stein, sharing it out in plastic cups. Lots of families weren’t even drinking beer, instead opting for soft drinks and munching down on snacks. The festival also wrapped up early, with most of the tents turning off their lights by 10.30pm.

Briton Helen Pink says it was not what she expected at a beer festival. “It’s more like a carnival. And I think more people aren’t drinking beer than are drinking beer,” she says. “It’s all a bit strange.”

One reason could be the cost. Local Tsingtao beer can be bought as cheap as 2 yuan a glass of draught outside on the street, but the least expensive German brew was going for 30 yuan a liter at the festival, with many brands pricier than that. While Qingdao is a relatively wealthy city compared with the rest of China, according to state media, the average per capita income of the city’s residents is still only about 12,920 yuan – meaning a 40-yuan bottle of Weihenstephaner would set them back almost a day’s salary.

The vast army of waiters and waitresses working the tents, many of them university students, would also struggle to afford a glass. Zhao Chuan Hai, a 20-year-old IT university student from Shandong province says he earns just 30 yuan a day for dishing up barbecued meats and snacks at the festival. “At night I sleep here with all the other student workers,” he says, gesturing to the wooden benches inside the beer tent. “It’s really hard work.” He says he took the job because most employers won’t hire students because they are only available to work during the summer holidays.

But the festival is a great money- maker for some. Organizers told The Weekend Standard that the festival earned 623 million yuan last year from 4.28 million ticket buyers and estimated the city also raked in 3.3 billion yuan because of the event. The festival is good publicity and a certain money- spinner for the city’s tourism industry – hotels generally hike their room prices up by anything from 100 to 500 yuan for those 16 days.

Qingdao is a pretty, coastal city with beaches, a German old town and the nearby mountain resort of Laoshan, oft- called China’s “Switzerland.” Even non-locals exploit the opportunities. A Uigher ethnic minority from Urumuqi in China’s Xinjiang region said his kebab stall inside the festival grounds makes about 15,000 yuan during the event. He says he comes here every year to sell food because the money is so good.

While mass binge drinking doesn’t seem to be a problem at Qingdao’s beerfest, the message to festival-goers is certainly drink more and drink fast, with organizers billing it as a “Crazy Summer Spree.” Televised shows at a central amphitheatre in the festival grounds hold speed drinking competitions, performers encourage the audience to scull their beer or pour it over their heads. By 8pm, some of the tents are quite rowdy. Men and women are on the tables dancing, shirts are ripped off and whirled about heads; others climb on the stage to dance and sing with the performer, or present them with beer and flowers. Even later in the evening, the more boisterous shake up bottles of beer and spray the crowd. At one point an obviously drunk mother and father – both red-faced and staggering – are on the stage jousting each other, using their children mounted on their shoulders as battering rams. A security guard intercepts after the children have been head- butted several times.

It’s around 9.30pm on the opening night and Ji Renshen, a 34-year-old fashion designer from nearby Yantai district, says he is having a great time. “It’s pretty good! Lots of fun,” he shouts above the music. “It’s a great place to meet people and be happy together. Although, it’s not as good as last year because of the rain.”

Outside the tent the ground has been churned into a swamp.

There is a heavy police presence at the festival. Organizers refused to say exactly how many officers were recruited but said the security force included both uniformed and plain clothes police. There was little evidence of much trouble; organizers said there were no reported injuries last year. “This year the atmosphere is crazy, but not chaotic,” they said.

So, at the end of the day, perhaps the Chinese interpretation of a beer festival as a family event is safer than the binge drinking orgy of Munich’s Oktoberfest. Last year German media reported 137 dangerous assaults – about half caused by flying beer mugs – at the event, the world’s largest beer festival.

At least in Qingdao, while a hangover is still a good possibility, you’re less likely to wake up needing stitches.

Seafood Cuisine

(Beijing This Month)
Updated: 2007-04-06 10:55

Qingdao, a coastal city on the Yellow Sea on East China’s Shandong Peninsula, is famous worldwide for its famed Tsingtao Beer, but another constant delight of locals and a beautiful memory for tourists is the city’s excellent seafood cuisine.

Seafood choices abound in Qingdao, and its residents’ cooking skills have been highly regarded for centuries. Trepang, abalone, sea snails, clams, oysters, squid, shrimp and crab dishes are common choices whether at a seaside snack bar, in one of the city’s many excellent “ordinary” restaurants or fine dining at a luxury hotel. Clams are a local favourite, and many people like to cook at home. Clams can accompany cold dishes, be served in a hot soup, or prepared as spicy fried dishes. Delicious and nutritious soups are also highly recommended.

Because of Qingdao’s rich seafood resources and its culinary legacy, there are special seafood fish dishes for each time of the day. Trepang is considered indispensable for local fine dining.

Some of the best places to sample the freshest seafood are found in fishing villages in the city’s mountainous Laoshan District. The seafood there is often fresh-caught, good to eat and relatively inexpensive. Summer and autumn are the best seasons to visit Laoshan. Its scenery, temples and seaside amusements make this a place for unforgettable sightseeing and dining experiences.

Another delightful place well-worth visiting is the Yunxiao Lu Food Street. Seafood there is reasonably priced and comes in a wide variety. Dumplings (jiaozi) with tasty seafood fillings are quite popular.

Newcomers to the area and its cuisine, however, should take special care of their stomachs. Often, an appetite is easily satisfied, but such pleasures can come at a price; the stomach sometimes suffers. Since vinegar can help protect the stomach and make the seafood more delicious, remember not eat too much at once, and ask for some vinegar and vegetables with your meals. Try especially pucai, a vegetable grown in ponds. Pucai is crisp and nutritious, and it is treasured by local residents.

But, since Qingdao is an exceptionally diverse city, because of its unique history and culinary history, if you get bored with seafood, there are many other treats available. On May 1¨C7 each year snacks from home and abroad are featured for tasting on Qingdao’s Huiquan Square; the 2007 instalment will be part of the Eighth China Food Festival. Chefs from more than 20 countries will show off their best dishes, and lectures on healthy dining will be given by experts.

Beer lovers look forward to August in this famed beer-producing city, because this is the time for the Qingdao International Beer Festival. Beer is a big part of life in Qingdao, and if you visit at other time of the year, the newly opened “Dengzhou Lu Beer Street” is ready to welcome you. The street is home to the original Tsingtao Beer Factory, established about a century ago by German residents in Qingdao. There are now about 40 beer bars and restaurants lining the nearly 1,000-metre-long street. Of special note, all the buildings on the street are in the late 19th century¨Cearly 20th century European-style. Fresh beer produced in the factory is available daily in the area’s bars, the freshest in the city. At the Tsingtao factory, the Tsingtao Beer Museum contains a detailed history of Tsingtao Beer and its production processes. Here you can sample the best in beer with others from around the world.

To prepare for your Qingdao adventure or if you are planning to visit Qingdao for the 29th Olympic Sailing Regatta in 2008, see: www.qingdaocate.com and www.meishi007.com, which contain useful information that will enhance your stay.

Related: A taste of Chinese beer