Every summer Qingdao hosts the Beer Festival.  As someone who has attended three of them, I can honestly tell you it's a damn good time.  If you are a serious drinker or a casual weekend enthusiast, you'll see the best of China's beer drinking culture at the event.

Picture huge tables filled with beer-swilling, elated Chinese.  Beautiful women performing on stage.  Music of all kinds is featured at the numerous stage venues.  There's tons of food, both Chinese and Western, to gorge on when you get the munchies.

As a foreigner, you'll be swamped with offers of free beers to "ganbai."   I've gone to the beer festival in the past and not had to buy a single beer.  The Chinese are so generous and kind, they are happy to show foreigners a good time.  This is a chance to see the Chinese at their best.  I've seen only a couple of fights all the times I've been there, and that's pretty amazing considering the amount of drinking that's going on.  If you put that many Canadians or Americans together, there would be some trouble.  If karaoke is your thing, you can test your singing skills in front of huge crowds, and even buy a cd recording of your song if you so desire.

There's a large variety of beer to sample, from all over  Asia and Europe, as well as our well known North American brands.

The many performances are sometimes hilarious, such as the beer drinking competition.  Who can chug a bottle of Qingdao beer the fastest? You'd be surprised that often times it's the ladies who excel at this admirable skill.

How good is the Qingdao Beer Festival?  I'm living in Southern China right now, and I'm taking a special trip up to Qingdao to make sure I'm there for the fourth year in a row.  Take it from a professional drinker, you'll have a good time!