Just what is baijiu?

We demystify the fiery local libation. Plus, the dangers of fake alcohol

While beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in China, baijiu comes in second as the Chinese (especially northern Chinese) love to down bottles and bottles of this fiery grain alcohol that is to China what vodka is to Russia. Often mistakenly translated as 'white wine', don't go looking for hints of gooseberry as the clear liquid often tips the scales above 100 per cent proof. While you can pick up a gallon of one of the cheaper varieties at the supermarket for 10-15RMB, bottles do range upwards of 15,000RMB – with the most expensive bottle ever sold going for a reported 880,000 RMB (£58,000 or $113,000).

Most baijiu sold in a restaurant will come in an elaborately packaged bottle that often requires a special key to crack open the bottle top. Don't let the presentation fool you though, baijiu smells and tastes awful and is completely unmixable. Also keep an eye out for bottles of baijiu in restaurants that are filled with snakes, rats, twigs and herbs and are reported to be tonics for everything from impotence to arthritis.

Asking for a familiar brand of spirits might not be the best solution, either. In early 2007 there was a spate of reports about fake foodstuffs and medicines being sold in China, and alcohol is no exception. As the bar scene has exploded in Beijing over the last ten years so too has the market in fake drinks. Expertly packaged to look authentic, the copycat booze is moonshine and brings with it the same inherent dangers. A good rule to follow when drinking the hard stuff is: if the prices look too good to be true, they probably are. Prices for name brand liquors are not much less in China than they are anywhere else in the world. When in doubt, stick to beer.

Gabriel Suk