Cheers to Chinese beer

Travellers that have been to Oktoberfest and are looking for a more unusual beer festival this year should consider visiting China for their International Beer Festival in Qingdao in August.

Tsing-Tao, the best known Chinese beer to Westerners and lovers of Chinese restaurants is brewed in the coastal town of Qingdao and the brewery has held an International Beer festival there since 1991.

Situated in the Shandong Province, approximately half way between Shanghai and Beijing, the town’s ancient name was Tsing-Tao and it was once a German concession. This German heritage explains why a brewery opened here in 1904 and today the town is a bizarre mix of German design and Chinese culture.

Shandong Province is seen as the birthplace of Chinese civilisation and is believed to have the oldest parts of the Great Wall and the earliest city with the ruins of the ancient Longshan City.

Travellers interested in visiting this fascinating country should consider going during the festival that starts on 14th August and lasts for 16 days. Flight Centre currently has flights from Heathrow to Shanghai with an internal return to Qingdao from £469 per person with China Eastern. A return flight to Beijing from Shanghai is from £165 per person.

Accommodation is from £25 per person per night at the 3* Bund Riverside in Shanghai, from £39 per person per night at the 4* Sofia Hotel Qingdao and from £29 per person per night at the 4* Guangzhou Hotel in Beijing. Entry into the beer festival is around £1.50 per person and is purchased in Qingdao.

For more information visit Flightcentre.co.uk.