The 23rd Qingdao International Beer Festival kicked off on Saturday, August 10, in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province. This carnival will last for 16 days.

New beers participating in this year's festival include Hoegaarden from Belgium, Hirsch from Germany and Laote, a local Laoshan beer brand.

A salesman named Liu from Hoegaarden said, “Although this is the first time for us to join the Qingdao beer festival, I believe this will be a stepping stone to success for our marketing in the region.”

The festival reaches its peak after 3 pm each day with hundreds of thousands of visitors swarming in as the weather cools down a bit. The tents are filled with laughter as visitors drink with friends, or even sing and dance with performers on stage.

A beer drinking competition takes place at the central stage at 9 pm each night. By the end of the festival, the final winner will be rewarded a car worth of 100,000 yuan ($16,340). Also, visitors can participate in the contest through WeChat, a cell phone social network application, to win a less expensive car.