It's a timeless German scene: Lederhosen-clad waiters carry
armfuls of frothing beer to groaning bench-loads of rosy faced,
stein-quaffing revellers.
On stage, in a hall decked out in the traditional blue and white
of Bavaria, an oompah band adds to the Oktoberfest atmosphere and
the crowd begin dancing on the tables and banging their glasses in
time to the music.
But the scene is thousands of miles from Munich, and outside is
not the mild beginnings of a German autumn; it's a stifling Chinese
summer night.
This is Kunshan, a town an hour-and-a-half ride outside
Shanghai, home to one of the most popular of a growing number of
Chinese beer festivals.
"Last year was the first time the festival was held. It lasted
nine days and attracted more than 120,000 people. This year they've
extended it to 14 days and are hoping for a quarter of a million,"
said Stefan Meichsner of the Delegation of German Industry and
Commerce in Shanghai, the group behind the German tent at the
festival, which started on Tuesday night and runs until August
29.
"This kind of festival is a traditional part of German culture
so it seemed natural that we have a tent here. It's also a good
opportunity for both Chinese and foreign companies to have some fun
and treat their customers to a real German night out."
Inside the German tent, one of six huge sponsored marquees at
the festival, there was a mixed crowd of several hundred expats,
Chinese from Shanghai and elsewhere, and local Kunshaners all
sipping steins and getting stuck into the sauerkraut, sausage,
schnitzel and potato buffet.
Shane Wilson, who works for Dell computers in the United States,
is on one of several business trips he makes to Kunshan every
year.
"Usually I head into Shanghai at the weekend, but obviously this
time there's plenty to do right here.
"It's really weird to see so many Chinese people in such a
German setting, but it's excellent. I've never seen anything like
it," he said. "They do need to lay on more toilets though."
For 18-year-old student Er Xingda, it was his second taste of
the out-of-season Oktoberfest.
"I came last year with some of my friends and thought it was
really good, so we came back this year and brought more people," he
said, sitting at a table supposedly reserved for guests of the
Kunshan government.
"The German tent is the most exciting, with the music and
dancing. It's really good fun and really different to what we're
used to."
"You don't see a lot of festivals like this with so many foreign
and Chinese visitors, the atmosphere is great," a businessman
said.
"We won't talk business tonight, but it is a good opportunity to
improve relations with my clients."
(China Daily August 17, 2006)
