Tsingtao brewing kettles and kegs line the Everlasting Beer Street in Qingdao. (Photo : Getty Images)
Going to the Tsingtao Beer Museum might mean getting splashed in the face with a mug of beer by a mischievous beer researcher. The beer is actually water sprayed from the museum ceiling and the researcher is really just a hologram designed to get the visitors' attention and the next thing they know--SPLASH!
Drenched or not, visitors can also attempt to negotiate the uneven floor of the Drunk House. The slanted floor gives the illusion of walking inebriated.
After regaining balance and overall mobility, guests can walk through a tunnel lined with "portholes," which are actually just circular monitors showing beer carbonation rising up. This makes the visitor feel as if the entire tunnel is submerged in beer.
The tunnel leads people to a platform where they can observe the actual beer bottling and canning at incredible speed.
Such sights and attractions are what tourists can expect from the museum of the 112-year-old brewery that sits along Everlasting Beer Street in Qingdao's Shibei District.
When German soldiers took over Qingdao, the brewery's yearly output was 2,000 tons of beer. Presently, the factory puts out roughly the same amount, only this time it's on a daily basis.
The Japanese overtook it in 1914, and by 1945 was subsequently replaced by Taiwan's Kuomintang Party. Afterward the Communist Party took claim of the brewery, exposing Tsingtao to a much larger market.
Tsingtao is currently the sixth largest brewer in the world with 67 breweries, five of which are in Qingdao. The United States is one of the 90 countries to which Tsingtao is exported, and is the largest foreign consumer of the beer brand.
Another unofficial attraction for visitors to enjoy are the Qingdao locals. Residents do not think twice when it comes to teaching tourists local beer-related expressions such as, "Drink beer and eat clams." The expressions are of course taught in the Qingdao tongue.
It is on Everlasting Beer Street where beer is made and beer is consumed. Beer gardens line the street. It is a veritable beer drinker's heaven.
With Tsingtao's colorful past, it is sure to have an even more colorful future.
