If you have already booked your China Flights for you to Travel to Beijing, you should take some advice about the drinks you should order when you get to know the Chinese party!
Baijiu: The White Devil
There are many jokes about ” how to know you’ve been in China too long,” but perhaps the most relevant one would be: “You know you’ve been in China too
long when you enjoy a nice glass of bái jiǔ.” At 80-120% proof, baijiu ranges from spicy bite to paint strippingly alcoholic. There are numerous brands of baijiu, but two of the most well-known are Mao Tai and Er Guo Tou. They sit at opposing ends of the cost charts with Mao Tai starting at about 300 RMB ($45 US) per bottle, and Er Guo Tou priced around 8 RMB ($1 US) per bottle. One offers you a level of refinement and sophistication, while the other delivers a punch to your soft parts and doesn’t call you the next day. Should neither extreme be your taste, there is a spectrum of other brands that fill the in-between.
Pijiu: An Ale For All Your Ills
Though slow to start in China, beer (pí jiǔ) is rumored to have replaced baijiu as the most drunk drink. Introduced originally, as with most places, by the Germans, it is with these lighter tastes in mind that Chinese beers are brewed.
Beer comes in bottles larger than what are standard in Western countries. With your average Budweiser weighing in at about 350 ml, it is easily overshadowed by the 500-750 ml bottles of Chinese brew.
Tsingtao is the nation’s #1 fizzy export, and has a huge domestic following as well. Brewed in the city of its moniker, Qingdao, Shandong, it is widely available and is generally quite cheap.
In most mom & pop restaurants you’ll pay 2-5 RMB per bottle, with the price rising to 10-30 RMB at the bars and clubs. Shops will often sell the cheap brands for 2 RMB, but may charge you a bottle deposit (often just written on random bits of cut-up cardboard) to assure you’ll bring the bottles back to them. Be warned that it is not at all uncommon for the cheap brands to be fakes.
Wines
Be sure that if you are asking for wine at a restaurant that they understand you want pú táo jiǔ, as baijiu is often mistranslated as “wine”. In most major cities you’ll be able to find a selection of imported reds (hóng pú táo jiǔ or simply hóng jiǔ) and whites (bái pú táo jiǔ).
China also has a rather quickly burgeoning collection of domestic vintners. Though popularity is still rather elitist, there are a number of wines priced competitively with their foreign counterparts. Prices range greatly, as they do in any country – but you can find cheaper and not terribly tasting bottles for 30-40 RMB, and a decent bottle for around 70-100 RMB.
Spirits/Hard Liquor
Often the small shops wont carry much in the way of spirits (with baijiu and possibly vodka as two exceptions), but larger supermarkets will almost always have a wide choice – from Hennessy and Johnnie Walker to Smirnoff and tequila, as well as a variety of liqueurs.
The more upscale Chinese-style bars will almost always feature a collection of rather rich men surrounded by some none-too-hard-on-the-eyes girls all drinking an expensive bottle of liquor and playing dice games. These are supplemented with more Western-style clubs that will sell you shots at the bar.
As for domestic brands of whiskey, vodka, or rum – they’re uncommon. Imports are the rule, and as such, expect to pay prices similar to home. You will definitely enjoy your China Travel trying this tasty and traditional alcohol!
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