Qingdao Party chief Wang Qingxian announces the opening of the 30th Qingdao International Beer festival. [Photo by Yang Xuejun/for chinadaily.com.cn]

The 30th Qingdao International Beer Festival opened in a grand style on Friday night in Qingdao, Shandong province, marking the start of days of carnival under strict epidemic prevention measures.

At the Golden Beach Beer City in the city's West Coast New Area, one of three main venues, Qingdao Party chief Wang Qingxian announced the opening of the festival and Mayor Meng Fanli uncorked the first barrel of beer.

As the world's largest beer square, the Golden Beach Beer City covers more than 800,000 square meters, where 1,500 different brews from across the globe as well as a host of popular snacks are on offer.

Mayor Meng Fanli (center) opens the first barrel of beer at the 30th Qingdao International Beer festival. [Photo by Qiu Xinmin/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Themed with a stylish beer festival, the event at the Golden Beach Beer City will last until August 16 and organizers will hold over 200 activities ranging from international exchanges to trade, exhibitions, culture and sports.

At the same time, organizers joined hands with streaming media platform Youku, an arm of internet conglomerate Alibaba, to establish a "cloud beer festival" on the internet, where netizens can check out highlights of the beer festival, order beer products online and join other various activities.

To ensure the health and safety of visitors, organizers will disinfect facilities every day during the event, take temperatures and check the health QR codes of every person entering the Golden Beach Beer City.

The 30th Qingdao International Beer Festival kicks off at the Golden Beach Beer City in Qingdao West Coast New Area on Friday night. [Photo by Xie Chuanjiao/ chinadaily.com.cn]

Staff will also monitor visitor flow during business hours. The daily visitor flow will be capped at 50 percent of maximum capacity.

Venues at the Century Square in the city's Laoshan district, named after the sacred Laoshan Mountain and 1,400-year-old Jimo Ancient city, also kicked off on Friday night. Both venues will hold events until August 23.

Initiated in 1991 and hailed as Asia's Oktoberfest, the annual Qingdao International Beer Festival is the largest of its kind in Asia and one of China's top 10 tourism events.

Fashion parade takes the spotlight at the 30th Qingdao International Beer Festival at the Golden Beach Beer City. [Photo by Yu Fangping/chinadaily.com.cn]

More than 1,500 different brews from across the globe are on offer at the Golden Beach Beer City during the 30th Qingdao International Beer Festival. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Visitors enjoy beer at the Golden Beach Beer City during the 30th Qingdao International Beer Festival. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A grand-style opening ceremony of the 30th Qingdao International Beer Festival is held at the Century Square in Qingdao's Laoshan district on Friday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An aerial view of the Century Square in Qingdao's Laoshan district, one of the three venues of the 30th Qingdao International Beer Festival. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]