China loves beer. In Yantai, we have a Yantai beer and in Qingdao, the biggest city in my province (about 2 hours away), there is Qingdao beer. I get the impression that every medium-sized city has it's own brand. And once a year, Qingdao hosts an international beer festival, which we made ourselves around to catch.
Unfortunately the weather was rainy, but we stuck it out, because that's what champs do. The majority of beer companies there were Euro-breweries, mostly from Germany and Belgium, and likewise the foreigners there were German or Belgian. Each beer brand had there own tented area with performers, food and of course, beer. I tried a tasty potato chip-like snack, essentially a whole potato spiraled on a stick and fried.
I also tried something Se Ah loves and refers to as "stinky fruit," whose outside is a hard, green, spiky shell. I thought perhaps like a fine French cheese the smell would not relate to the taste. So rarely, but sometimes, I am wrong.
The tent performers ran the gamut from singers to dancers to models. And as a treat, I've put together some footage into a little compilation video. YouTube's compression makes it pixilated and blah because it's detailed, but you'll still get the feel. At around 1:00 min. the pop singer almost runs into a pole. Awesome. Unfortunately I didn't get footage of the main stage drinking contest which boasted a prize of a car. Tears. Boys, you'll still enjoy the compilation.
The event also had the traditional rigged carnival games and rides mixed in. I decided to embarrass myself trying to shoot some hoops (where did my mad 7th grade basketball skills go?) and brave a carnival roller coster. I didn't lose feet, *shudder*.
Disney is HUGELY popular in China. I see Mickey or the head + ears shape everywhere, much more so than in America, and this is probably because of copyright laws. And so Minnie Mouse ears were being sold and worn by lots of girls. Se Ah wanted in on the action and so did I. My cool factor went up in China, and down in America.
Finally, my brother posed with one of the displays as we left. So impressive was the strength of his posing that others after him tried to emulate it, with unsuccessful results.
ew you had freaking durian?!!! That stuff is so nasty. Missing you but loving reading about your adventures!
Posted by: Kent Haina | September 19, 2009 at 05:20