Simon Foster - CHINA's Three Gorges & Xi'an

Alcohol

Alcohol is widely available in China in many forms and most restaurants and cafés will serve beerand spirits, while big cities have plenty of bars, pubsand clubs. Beer ( pijiu ) is the most common alcoholic drink, thanks to the German annexation of Qingdao, which produces the country's finest beer, internationally exported Tsingtao(an old transliteration of the town name).

Almost every region has its own brewery and they're all fairly quaffable, all the more so due to the low price. At around 40 cents for a 640 ml bottle from a canteen or shop, beer is similarly priced to mineral water, although you'll pay far more in bars, especially for imported brands. This affordability and availability makes beer a common accompaniment to most meals, even if that's lunch served at 11 am.

While beer is most often drunk, liquor is fundamental to the banquet scene and shouts of ganbei (dry glass) echo around the room with alarming regularity. Drinking gamesare also popular and you'll see groups of men furiously shouting out numbers to try and guess the number of fingers their competitors will hold up. Baijiu , made from millet or sorghum, and mijiu , made from rice, are the principal liquor offerings, but in the city bars you'll find all manner of imported brands. Don't be surprised if you see a liquor bottle with a snake inside it; this is yet another alleged booster for male virility.

China also produces a few wines, the best-known being Dynastyand Great Wall, though if you want to drink wine you're better off splashing out on an imported European or New World bottle, available at upscale restaurants, supermarkets and department stores. This said, things could be set to change with a little help from France in the form of the Sino-French vineyard, which had its first harvest in 2003 (see Vino China ).

Entertainment & Nightlife

The new China offers a host of entertainment possibilities, from the ultra-modern to those that hark back to bygone days. Traditionally, entertainment came in the form of opera(see Music ) and acrobatics troupeswho performed in teahousesand theaters, but today karaoke( KTV) and nightclubs are equally as popular!

Bars & Clubs

There are a host of different kinds of places to enjoy a drink, from outdoor stalls to trendy bars, Western-style pubsand not so Western-style clubs. For a slice of Chinese life along with your beverage you can't beat a beer at one of the ubiquitous outdoor eateries in the thick of busy streetlife; owners generally don't mind if you don't eat, but a bit of nourishment can help to temper the alcohol. And while karaoke (KTV) barsmay be a long way from your notion of a quiet place for a drink, their popularity speaks volumes about the Chinese concept of having a good time and can make for a very different and fun evening out. More upscale places have private roomswhere you can scream your lungs out from the comfort of a couch, but be aware that some of these places are merely fronts for brothels. There are even KTV booths on the street where the spectacle of a foreigner singing is certain to cause a stir, but, no matter how bad you are, you'll always get some applause!

In the cities there are neon-lit bars serving a range of imported beers and spirits, often found clustered together in bar districts such as San Litun Lu in Beijing. University areas also tend to attract bars and coffee shops, often with cheaper prices than their city center counterparts. Discosand nightclubsare generally found in the same locations, although the experience can be very different from the Western model! These places often have a cover charge (sometimes waived for foreigners) for which you may get a "free” drink. Once inside, you might find scantily clad women dancing on podiums to cheesy tunes and witness all manner of shows or party games! For those more serious about their music in the big cities there are also underground venueswith the latest in dance music from around the globe and live music bars where you can see emerging bands (see Protest Music ). Although there are recommended bars, pubs and clubs within this book, it's a fast-moving scene, which makes it worth checking out local web magazines such as www.thatsmags.com for the latest.

Cinema

Although China has plenty of movie theatersto while away rainy afternoons, outside of Hong Kong, most films are in Chinese, so, unless you're into martial arts and want to catch a kung fu flick, your options can be limited. Beijing and Shanghai do have a few theaters that show movies in English and they are also popping up in other cities such as Hangzhou. Tickets cost around $50.

Shopping

Shopping in China has come a long way from the shortages of yesteryear and is one of the chief hobbies (and status symbols) of the Middle Kingdom's newly moneyed population. This is reflected in the country's legion of shiny new shopping mallsand bustling markets, and makes China a great shopping destination. Shopping is fun in China – from nightmarketsto exclusive boutiques, there's always something to catch your eye and it's a great way to come into contact with the locals. Just remember that whatever you buy has to find its way home somehow, so it's worth concentrating your shopping at the tail end of your trip, by which time you may also have a clearer idea of what you like and how much you should pay for it. If you're buying items over 100 years old, you'll need to get an export certificate, which can be arranged at Friendship Stores and note that it's illegal to take home anything that predates the death of Emperor Qianlong in 1795. Of course, you'll also have to take into account customson return to your home country – see Customs & Immigration for more information. If you plan to buy items that require shipping home, check all of the costs incurred, as cheap prices are sometimes offset by unexpected payments to have the goods delivered to your door.

What's Offered

As the biggest manufacturer on the planet, China clearly has a lot to sell and you'll find everything from tacky Mao souvenirs, cheap electronicsand the latest fashionsto quality traditional itemssuch as jade, paintings, pottery, silkand tea. Antiqueitems can be found everywhere from streetmarketsto department stores, but forgeryis also rife; if something is more than 100 years old, it should have an official red wax seal, so if you're paying a substantial amount and authenticity is important to you, make sure you get one of these. Something else to note is the widespread availability of imitation products – from designer label clothingto pirate CDsand DVDs. Although they're very cheap and the audiovisual copies are usually good quality, they are, of course, all illegal and may be seized at customs on your return. Finally, there are also a few shopping scams that can snare the unwary – see Warning – Scams for more.