Several toasts into a long dinner for visiting reporters, an official in the old steel town of Benxi is inspired to share a traditional saying from northeastern China: 'If you have liquor without food, it can be bad for your health. But if you have food without liquor, then you don't have any liquor.'
Banish the thought. Alcohol in various forms has been part of the Chinese lifestyle and culture for millennia. The national tipple is baijiu, a throat-scorching liquor usually distilled from sorghum.
In 2006, retail sales of baijiu rose 34 per cent to 97.13 billion yuan (HK$110.94 billion) - roughly 75 yuan for every man, woman and child on the mainland.
Northeasterners enjoy a reputation for being especially fond of their booze. Most banquets begin and end with toasts. It is not uncommon to find the dining table set with three glasses - one each for wine, beer and baijiu.
But while demand for baijiu across the mainland remains healthy and growing, the industry itself has been going through a consolidation phase.
The majority of the market is cornered by a few national players based in southwestern provinces, such as Kweichow Moutai and Wuliangye Group. But despite this dominance of the big players, 30,000 smaller local and regional distilleries persevere.
In the northeast most towns still have at least one producer. In Shenyang , the provincial capital of Liaoning , the local brew is Laolongkou, or 'Old Dragon's Mouth'.
