QINGDAO, July 23 (Xinhua) -- About an hour before the start of the FIFA World Cup final, there was nowhere left to sit at Tsingtao 1903 Time Craft Brewing Workshop in Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong Province in eastern China.

Fans in football jerseys lingered over freshly poured craft beer, sizzling barbecue skewers and local snacks, chatting and glancing toward the giant screen as they counted down to kickoff half a world away.

The brewery stayed open until 6 a.m., well past the final whistle, as the U.S.-hosted final kicked off in the small hours of China's morning.

This football-watching party coincided with the month-long 36th Qingdao International Beer Festival, which opened last Friday and has turned the city into one of China's busiest summer tourism destinations.

"We wanted to create a late-night spot where fans could enjoy craft beer and food while sharing the excitement of the game," said Zhang Bing, manager of the brewery.

For Liu Yu, a tourist from Sichuan Province, beer and football were a perfect match that made his stay in Qingdao truly special.

"The relaxed festival atmosphere, combined with the excitement of the World Cup final, made the experience unforgettable," said Liu.

As China's summer travel season reaches its peak, cities across the country are introducing new attractions designed to draw visitors and encourage spending. In Qingdao, beer is central to the strategy.

Over its month-long run, this year's Qingdao International Beer Festival features more than 2,300 beer products and over 2,000 activities including tastings and cultural exhibitions. Last year's edition attracted some 20 million visits and saw more than 2,900 tonnes of beer consumed, according to official data.

Qingdao's embrace of beer is rooted in its modern history. Introduced to the city in the early 20th century, beer gradually became woven into local life and culture. Founded in 1903, Tsingtao Brewery has since grown into one of China's best-known beer brands, helping cement beer as one of the city's defining symbols.

MORE THAN A DRINK

Today, that legacy extends well beyond enjoying a glass of the local brew. In line with China's efforts to broaden consumption scenarios and boost spending, Qingdao has rolled out a diverse array of beer-themed tours and cultural experiences.

After dark, visitors can board the "Tipsy Bus." The sightseeing bus features live music performances and freshly tapped beer on board, allowing passengers to take in the city's nightscapes while sharing drinks with fellow travelers.

"The ride offered great views and a unique experience. I enjoyed it so much that I stayed on for several more loops," said Jiang Min, a tourist.

At the Tsingtao Beer Museum, meanwhile, visitors don't just learn about the brewery's history. Dressed in vintage costumes, they follow actors through the old brewery, solve clues and take part in an immersive role-play drama titled "Awakened Brewmaster," which is based on a historical event in 1949.

The play revolves around protecting the brewery and its brewing techniques, with 10 live actors guiding visitors through the narrative. "It combines beer history with cultural experiences, turning the visit into an immersive journey," said Zeng Chao, deputy general manager of Tsingtao Beer Culture Communication Co., Ltd.

Technology has also found its place in local beer culture. At a beer-themed smart service zone in the city's historic scenic area, a robot bartender takes orders, pours freshly tapped beer with a precise 0.5-centimeter head, and delivers it to customers.

In 2025, Qingdao's beer-related industrial tourism drew more than 2.5 million visitors, pushing cumulative visits past 19 million. Overseas arrivals topped 250,000 last year, bringing the cumulative total to more than 1 million, according to Zeng.

Industry insiders say these innovations reflect the beer sector's transition from simply selling beverages to creating richer consumption experiences.

"In such scenarios, drinking is no longer just about the beer itself, but about sharing the atmosphere and being part of the experience. It is the interaction among people, and between people and the city, that makes the consumption more appealing," said Guo Qingling, an industry expert.

BROADER SHIFT

Qingdao is not alone. Across China, cities are increasingly turning local cultural resources into immersive consumption experiences.

In Jingdezhen, known as the country's porcelain capital, ceramic workshops invite visitors to paint patterns on unfired porcelain, try their hand at pottery making, and have their creations fired and delivered to their homes. In 2025, Jingdezhen's domestic tourist arrivals and tourism spending rose 15.4 percent and 18 percent year on year, respectively.

"We used to sell products. Now we also sell experiences," said Sun Lixin, a provincial-level inheritor of traditional blue-and-white porcelain craftsmanship.

In northeast China's Changchun, visitors tour automobile factories, trace the history of China's auto industry and watch smart production lines in action, while in Anqing in Anhui Province, they step into a live-action game inspired by the classic Huangmei Opera, solving clues and interacting with performers in a historic neighborhood.

Earlier this month, China released a five-year plan to expand consumption, calling for new consumption models and scenarios centered on consumer experiences, including immersive and interactive experiences, and greater use of cultural resources to enrich products and services.

According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, China's experience economy reached 18.4 trillion yuan (about 2.55 trillion U.S. dollars) by the end of November 2025, up 22.6 percent year on year. It is projected to exceed 22 trillion yuan in 2026 and maintain average annual growth of over 20 percent during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

"The experience economy offers a new pathway for boosting consumer spending," said Zhang Peili, a professor at the School of Economics at Renmin University of China.

"As material needs are increasingly met, it becomes harder to stimulate consumption through traditional goods alone. Greater growth potential lies in services and experiences that people can return to repeatedly," Zhang said.