Beer and good cheer highlight Oktoberfest parties

The Lord Mayor of Munich kicked off the world's most famous beer festival back on Sept 19, but Oktoberfest continues around the world well into its namesake month. Why so long? For one thing, there is big demand for those Bavarian oom-pah bands at global Oktoberfest celebrations, and they can't be everywhere at once. At Kempinski hotels around China, for example, they started rolling out the beer barrels in Jiangsu on Aug 26, and the chain's last Oktoberfest parties in China will be in Changsha (Oct 16-21), Beijing (ongoing through Oct 23) and Harbin (Nov 4-14).

Like many beery good parties, the first Oktoberfest happened at a wedding - in Munich in 1810, when Crown Prince Ludwig (later to become King Ludwig I), wed Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen.

Hotels and German restaurants around China are awash in beer during this season. Hong Kong's longest-running outdoor Oktoberfest returns for a 23rd year at the Marco Polo hotel from Oct 16 to Nov 7, with lots of German nibbles, beer and dancing to the Bavarian tunes of The Notenhobler.