Chinese Alcohol

Beer, wine and another alcohol plays a big role in Chinese food culture. Beer is consumed in land quantities at times and many men love to make friends over a bottle of hard liquor. It’s important to learn a bit more about Chinese alcohol and drinking practices before you head out with new friends.


Where to drink

Surprisingly to some foreigners, Chinese do not traditionally drink in bars. While customs and attitudes are changing in some places, a more typical place to drink alcohol is in a restaurant. Alcohol is usually consumed during the meal; it’s rare to go out and drink without ordering any food. In addition, people generally stop drinking after they’re done eating.

More and more bars are popping up, especially in large cities. These tend to be much more expensive than drinking in a local restaurant and a typical local beer might cost many times as much as in a normal restaurant.


What to drink

Beer is the drink of choice for casual occasions and Chinese often drink it with lunch and dinner. Chinese beer is usually relatively low in alcohol content and it usually takes quite a bit to become intoxicated, so don’t worry if your host orders a large, 500 ml beer bottle for each person. Chinese beer is generally light. Most of it is similar to China’s most well-known brand, Tsingtao, which is available worldwide.

For celebrations and special events, Chinese enjoy a hard alcohol called baijiu (pronounced almost like “Bye Joe”). This is a clear distilled drink that can be up to 60% alcohol. It ranges in quality from dirt cheap 20 RMB bottles to high-class, thousands-of-RMB rarities. Though experts can tell the subtle differences between the various types, brands and flavors of baijiu, most foreigners find the drink difficult to enjoy at best and revolting at worst.

Red wine is consumed in more formal settings, like business meetings. It’s not unusual to put ice cubes in red wine or mix it with Sprite.


Drinking Etiquette

Drinking in China is a way for people (mostly men) to bond and get to know one another in a setting where they are both relaxed. In normal social situations it might be hard to speak frankly and express genuine emotions and drinking gives an excuse to do this. Male foreigners especially will probably be asked to drink with Chinese friends at some point or another as a way of getting to know each other.

Drinking beer is easier than drinking baijiu, since it’s easier to pace yourself and go slowly. If your Chinese friends want to drink baijiu, be sure to set a strict limit for how much you drink. If you don’t want to drink at all, it’s best to make that very clear from the beginning. Sometimes there can be serious social pressure to drink as much or more than other people at the table and other drinkers will sometimes try to convince you or tease you into drinking. If you’re a guest, your glass will often constantly be refilled after you finish a drink.

Whether drinking beer or baijiu, toasting is usually a big part of drinking in China. Drinkers will regularly lift their glasses and say a few nice words to each other before cheering “ganbei!” (which means “empty the glass” and is the equivalent of saying “Cheers!” in English). When knocking your glass against someone else’s (or pengbei), it’s considered polite if you lower your glass below the other because it implies modesty (although no one will fault you if you don’t know this custom).

Traditionally women do not drink alcohol but this is changing rapidly, especially in larger cities. However, some people (including many women) find this unacceptable and women rarely participate in drinking in the same way as men. It is very unusual to see a woman drink baijiu, and they instead drink beer, wine or other drinks with less alcohol.