Ganbei - a chinese drinking culture

I was invited to a friend’s farewell dinner last Friday. The dinner was fantastic but the drinking after that was not really enjoyable.

In China, there is a drinking culture called “Ganbei” (干杯) which in Chinese literally means “empty the glass”. This is not considered as a drinking competition but more as Chinese ways to honor the guess of the night. If somebody offers you a “Ganbei”, you are expected to at least say the same “Ganbei” to honor him back and thus empty your glass as well. After some Ganbei, your head will start becoming fuzzy and you can expect that you’ll wake up with terrible headache on the next day.

As a foreigner in China, you can expect to receive at least 2-3 Ganbei during a dinner. I have also realized that a lot of Chinese actually prefer to discuss important business transactions over good dinner rather than to have proper meetings at the office.

Therefore, in order to understand the rule better, I have been concentrating today to find the do’s and don’ts about Ganbei and find the following tips off the internet:

1. Rule number one has to be – don’t be tricked into drinking more than you feel comfortable with. A Chinese friend may try to drink a lot more than he is able to consume so as not to lose face in front of you. Usually (and I put emphasis on this word) they will watch you closely to begin with to determine the pace you want to set.

2. There are two main types of alcohol consumed at meals in China – Baijiu 白酒 (strong spirits often made from rice) and Pijiu 啤酒 (beer). Baijiu can be anything from 38% to 60%+ proof so it is advisable to stick to beer unless you are a strong drinker. If someone toasts you with baijiu it is very impolite for you to then drink with beer, likewise it would be strange for you to drink baijiu if someone toasts you with beer.

3. If your drinking partner who moves to clink glasses with you is superior to you in some way (be it age or position in a company etc.), it is deemed polite for you to clink his/her glass with the rim of yours below theirs.

4. Another important though often overlooked form of drinking etiquette is for you to maintain eye contact with the person you are toasting while you are drinking – though this can be slightly awkward at times.

5. After a glass has been drained Chinese people will often extend the empty glass to you so that you can see that they have in fact finished their drink.

6. It is essential during a meal that you personally toast the person who is paying and sputter out a few words of appreciation. People will be offended if you don’t do this. The person who is paying will usually be the person who invited you out. However if in doubt, watch closely and wait until the bill is paid, it is quite acceptable for you to then toast that person.

7. If there are old people dining with you, be sure to also toast them each at least once.

Most important from all the rules above, If you wish to proceed more slowly with your drink, you can say "suiyi" instead. It means ”as you wish”- giving you the opportunity to leave some drink in your glass for the next toast. This is definitely the word I have to remember for my next dinner invitation!

PS: I have tried Baiju, I can only recommend you to take a small sip just to decide whether you like it or not before you committed to empty the glass. I personally think it tastes really bad.