Glasses were raised as the 30th Qingdao International Beer Festival got underway in Qingdao West Coast New Area on July 31, with beer lovers drinking in themed surroundings and entertainment.

The more than two-week-long event will last until Aug 16 at the Golden Beach Beer City in Qingdao, Shandong province, letting in more than 1,500 different beers from more than 40 countries and regions.

Aiming to attract more people nationwide, this year the festival is being held both online and offline, marking the first digital beer festival in the history of the event that has been held since 1991.

The festival will broadcast two-hour livestreams every day with programs such as Cheers Qingdao, a beer reception room, interviews with artists, and panoramic displays of the festival and the urban scenery along Qingdao's West Coast.

Despite strict prevention and control measures in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival has also been able to arrange offline activities.

Centering on a theme of fashion, the event has six fashion-oriented sections featuring beer, delicacies, performances, activities and experiences, according to Liu Shuwu, Party secretary and chairman of Qingdao-based Huangfa Group.

Another highlight of the festival is the variety of beer booths spanning an area of 15,600 square meters, where brands such as Qingdao's Tsingtao Augerta and Tsingtao Beer, Snow Beer, Germany's Warsteiner, Spain's ErBoqueron, Belgium's Duvel and Canada's Russell, will serve up their brews.

Among these brands, Belgium's Duvel and China's Snow Beer were the first to take part in the festival, according to the organizer.

"The festival this year attaches more importance to consumer demands around craft beer," Liu said.

To this end, bars at the festival are showcasing microbrewery offerings from home and abroad, he added.

Joining hands with top catering businesses, the festival is providing guests with a range of cuisines from local to Western flavors.

In addition, the organizer has built a food plaza with an area of 15,000 sq m for delicacies and entertainment.

It has set up 56 stands just for local specialties.

During the event, the beer city will host about 100 activities incorporating cultural performances, fashion shows and concerts.

The fashion shows will be inspired by beer culture, and showcase the works of many of the winners of the Jinding Award, China's top fashion design award. Models will strut the creations among the festival's beer booths.

The festival will hold over 200 fashion activities featuring international exchanges, culture and sports as well as trade cooperation.

During the festival, the 2020 Qingdao International Beer Products Fair will play a key role in promoting the beer trade.

Covering an exhibition area of 1,500 sq m, the fair has attracted more than 30 companies and organizations from more than 10 countries and regions to demonstrate the brewing industrial chain including raw materials, equipment and products.

The festival has also launched the first beer cultural and creative design week, which includes activities such as a creative design competition and cultural exhibition.

The festival will also not be without a range of sporting activities including an arm wrestling competition, boxing, street sports, parkour and basketball.

With the emerging development of the internet celebrity business, the festival plans to make its Golden Beach Beer City an "internet-famous" fashion destination.

The beer city upgraded its branded character Hajiu uncle that was launched last year. It has developed about 1,000 derivatives from the character and built a 1,000-sq-m space to open Hajiu's flagship store as well as added seven new Hajiu-themed sites for taking photos.

"We are paying more attention to providing immersive entertainment experience for tourists," Liu said.

These entertainments include an immersive art exhibition and an immersive experience space, according to the chairman.

If you go

The 30th Qingdao International Beer Festival

Date: Through Aug 16

Venue: Golden Beach Beer City, West Coast New Area, Qingdao

Qingdao is roughly 560 kilometers from Beijing, with an average travel time of one hour and 10 minutes by air, or three to five hours by train.

The city is 693 km from Shanghai, and takes about one hour and 25 minutes by air.

Visitors watch a performance under the giant sculpture "Qingdao toasts the world" at the 30th Qingdao International Beer Festival. CHINA DAILY

Beer girls dance at the Golden Beach Beer City in Qingdao West Coast New Area during the ongoing festival. CHINA DAILY

Beer lovers raise their glasses in celebration at the festival. CHINA DAILY