Baijiu is the most-consumed spirit in the world and almost unknown outside China. It is typically bottled somewhere between forty and sixty percent alcohol, and its flavour — funky, fermented, intensely aromatic — tends to divide first-time drinkers sharply.
What you will actually encounter#
Baijiu belongs to banquets and hosted dinners rather than casual meals. If you are eating in restaurants as a tourist you may never meet it. If you are invited to dinner by a business contact, a host family or anyone marking an occasion, it will appear.
It is served in small cups, not sipped over an evening. It punctuates the meal through toasts.
Ganbei, and what it commits you to#
干杯 (gānbēi) means "dry the cup" — the whole thing, in one. 随意 (suíyì) means "as you please", and you drink what you like.
Listen for which one is said. Responding to a suíyì toast by draining your cup is not required, and responding to a gānbēi toast with a sip is a mild miss. If you want to moderate your pace, propose your own toasts with suíyì.
When clinking with someone more senior, hold your glass so its rim meets below theirs. It is a small gesture of deference and it is noticed.
How to decline#
Declining is genuinely acceptable, and there are recognised formulas for it. Medication, a health condition, or driving are all accepted without further questioning. Say it once, warmly, and keep participating in the toasts with something else in your glass.
Tea or soft drink substitution is entirely normal. Raise your cup, join every toast, drink what is in it. Participation is what the ritual is actually about — the specific liquid matters far less than showing up for the gesture.
For tea culture, the drinks you will be offered instead, and what to bring if you are hosted, see the guide to Chinese tea and drinks.