He will be defending his title as the beer-drinking champion of China's foremost beer festival. Li Baocheng, an engineer from Qingdao, is both excited and nervous.

"I will definitely take part in this year's competition, and I hope to win again," says the 31-year-old champ, who stood out from the crowd by winning the contest two years running in the 2009 and 2010 Qingdao International Beer Festival.

Participants are required to compete in three rounds: They have to chug back a bottle of beer in the fastest time; then gulp a mug of freshly pulled draft beer, and finally, see who can toss back the most beer in one minute.

"More and more visitors come to Qingdao for the beer festival, and competition is getting more intense," Li says.

The contest attracts competitors from far and wide. Sarah Lyall, a 30-year-old teacher from Australia who teaches English at a local university, had a go at the competition last year.

"I had so much fun during the competition, even though I didn't really do well. It was such an amazing experience, and I love the beer and the festivities," she says, with a hearty laugh.

This year's beer festival opens on Aug 13, and will last until the end of the month, according to the organizers.

The festival debuted in 1991. Now Asia's largest beer festival, it has been held every year since, usually during the second week of August. Highlights include opening and closing ceremonies, beer tasting, a carnival, parades, a beer-drinking competition and an economic and trade exhibition.

"The Qingdao International Beer Festival is now an internationally recognized event and successfully combines tourism, culture and sports to play a valuable role in promoting the economic interests of the city," says Qingdao Mayor Xia Geng.

Wang Dazhi, 46, from Hebei province, came to the festival with his wife and 19-year-old son last year just as he did in previous years.

"We come to the beer festival, drink some beer and enjoy the sea breeze," Wang tells China Daily.

Last year's festival attracted about 250,000 tourists a day, with the Qingdao International Beer Hall hosting 360,000 visitors on it's peak day. Beer lovers drank about 930,000 tons of beer provided by more than 20 beer manufacturers from around the world, setting a record for the festival.

Xiao Zhi, 80, has been to every festival and has enjoyed watching it grow. She recalls the first beer festival held in a local park with only a few breweries participating. As the festival became better known, it became an annual gathering for breweries all over the world.

"We local people are so proud of the festival. It's like a second Spring Festival for us. Every year, I go to the festival to have some beer and a happy time." Last year Xiao was awarded a special prize for her faithful participation.

Sporting a T-shirt with the Tsingtao logo on it, Daniel Favitta from the US state of North Carolina was jumping up and down like an excited child.

"I have heard so much about the festival at home, and I drink a lot of Tsingtao beer, so I came here for last year's beer festival and had an amazing time. We intend to stay around for some time and travel and wait for August to come around," Favitta says.

You can contact the writers at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

China Daily

(China Daily 07/31/2011 page15)