“Beer represents a way of life. After a busy day, having a few drinks and chatting with friends is a kind of enjoyment,” said Lucas from Germany, taking a sip of beer on the terrace of the 1903 Time Craft Brewery in Golden Beach Beer City, Qingdao West Coast New Area, as night fell and the sea breeze.

Behind him, a drone show shifted between the sea and sky, eventually forming the light-and-shadow characters “The 35th Qingdao International Beer Festival” to light up the night sky. Hosted by the Qingdao Municipal Government, this year’s beer festival lasts for 30 days. As the West Coast venue of the festival, Golden Beach Beer City has unlocked new coastal life experiences for tourists at home and abroad with its “international flair, sense of experience, and cultural appeal”.

International Flair: Drawing a “Global Beer Style Atlas”

As one of the world’s four major beer festivals, this year’s event has gathered over 2,300 types of beer from more than 40 countries, creating a “Global Beer Style Atlas”. During the festival, Golden Beach Beer City becomes a “mini global village” where different types of beer and diverse cultures engage in dialogue.

The “Golden Flower Award Craft Beer Competition” is a key event of this year’s beer festival, attracting over 400 brands and more than 2,000 types of beer from home and abroad. “The world is colorful, just like our beers—you can always find one that makes you happy,” said Chu Jiaxin, head of the competition. The competition aims to promote the integration and coexistence of global beer cultures through exchange and comparison.

The upgrading of traditional events has turned Golden Beach Beer City into an international “showcase”: the Beer King Competition has attracted contestants from over 20 countries to compete on the same stage, serving as a platform for international cultural exchange; the Beer Goddess Competition has adopted the judging standards of the Miss World pageant, building a bridge for local culture to engage with the international stage.

In addition, during this year’s beer festival, 20 performances, including “Summit of Flames” by Argentina’s MALEVO Dance Company and “Song of Victory” by the Russian Air Force Song and Dance Troupe, have been staged on the central stage of Golden Beach Beer City. The gathering of top artists from home and abroad has elevated this year’s beer festival into a platform for artistic mutual learning.

Sense of Experience: Updated Atmosphere for “Immersive” Enjoyment

Lively drone shows in the night sky, AR interactions blending virtual and real, naked-eye 3D creating visual wonders… After dark, Golden Beach Beer City shimmers with flowing light and shadow, and together with the crisp clink of glasses, it transforms into a “sea of joy”.

“The more I come, the more I feel the new ideas in each session,” said Zhang Yu, a resident of Qingdao West Coast New Area living near Golden Beach Beer City. His strongest impression of the beer city is “newness”. “The unique atmosphere of the beer city makes every night full of freshness,” he said. He believes the beer festival’s global reputation stems not only from the integration of beer cultures but also from the continuous update of its atmosphere.

As a national-level tourism and leisure district, Golden Beach Beer City features architecture centered on German Bavarian style, integrating leisure, entertainment, catering and other functions around the theme of beer culture to form a unique coastal landscape.

In Golden Beach Beer City, tourists can enjoy immersive experiences in various beer-themed scenes. At the Qingxi Golden Beer Craft Experience Hall, visitors can witness the “birth” of beer from malt to glass through a fully visible production line; at the Beer Culture Museum, they can deeply feel the history of beer civilization through personal interaction; the daily art parade during the festival offers a dual “visual + artistic” experience, becoming a “flowing landscape” of Golden Beach Beer City.

Cultural Appeal: Coexistence of Historical Heritage and Modern Vitality

“German and Chinese beers have different flavors, but both convey joy,” Lucas said. He believes that different beer cultures reflect different lifestyles, but their core pursuits are the same. “This is what I’ve realized after experiencing different beer cultures,” he added.

Qingdao, known for its beer, has integrated beer culture into its “urban genes”. The Qingdao International Beer Festival not only focuses on dialogue between different beer cultures but also serves as a comprehensive window to showcase the city’s local culture.

At this year’s beer festival, the “Shanhai Craftsmanship · Happy Handmade Fair” in Golden Beach Beer City has brought traditional crafts such as brick carving rubbing and ancient incense making out of museums, turning them into tangible and experiential living cultures; the “Charming West Coast” cultural and tourism exhibition area displays tea art, inkstone culture and “space capsule hotels” together, outlining a cultural picture where historical heritage and modern vitality coexist.

“The beer festival, as a shining business card, has injected strong impetus into the development of Qingdao’s economy, culture and other fields,” said Lin Xingyu, a senior advisor to the Qingdao International Beer Festival and a distinguished professor at Shandong University of Finance and Economics. He believes that the inheritance and development of the beer festival is a distinctive evolutionary history of cultural and tourism festivals with far-reaching influence. “It is the culmination of the city’s beer culture, amplifying the tension between beer culture and urban personality, making it a charming world.”