A fortnight beer festival, the largest carnival of its kind in China, is expected to start in eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong Province, from August 13.

The organizing committee said it had built 12 beer-drinking camps of varying styles with a total area of 26,000 square meters this year, where millions of people will possibly drink hundreds of tons of beer.

According to the committee, 36 top brewers from Germany, the United States, Denmark and Britain including Budweiser, Carlsberg, and domestic beer giants like Tsingdao Beer and Beijing Beer have booked booths in the camps.

In addition, costume parades, various singing competitions, fashion shows, and beer-drinking contests will be held throughout the festival to entertain beer drinkers, the committee said.

The Qingdao International Beer Festival has been held annually for 15 years and has grown into the most influential one around China.

Last year, about 2.9 million people attended the festival and 876 tons of beer were drunk in the 16 days. Most of the hotels were full booked long before the festival.

Qingdao is the home of China's brewery giant -Tsingdao Beer Group, famous for its German-style beverage and popular among Asian consumers.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2005)