Drinking in Hubei

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Hubei generally consumes the same style of beverages as the rest of China. Tea and hot water being the most popular, followed by soft drinks, beer and white wine "bai jiu".

Every kind of tea is available, as are bottled teas and coffees, soft drinks, water and juices. One of the highlights of Hubei is the local beer, going by the name of Snow which generally comes in 500mL bottles, containes on average 3.6%alc/v and is very easy to drink chilled or not. The going rate for a bottle is 2.50RMB with a 0.5RMB refund when you return the bottle. The cheapness and high quality of Chinese beer has been the undoing of many an overzealous foreigner.

There are also many places in which to consume these drinks. The most abundant by far are the famous Chinese 'discos' and 'KTV' bars which charge drinks at a minimum of a 500% markup and often times exceed 1000%. There are a small amount of 'foreign bars', generally also expensive but with an environment which is catered more to foreign tastes.

In Wuhan itself there is the local institution 'Vox Bar' which is easily the cheapest and most diverse bar in the province, with beer starting from 5RMB and hosting a variety of different live bands ranging from Beijing heavy metal to Xinjiang folk music. The patrons of Vox come from every corner of the world, featuring strong contingencies of Africans, Arabians, Central Asians, Australian and New Zealander, American, Mexican, Canadian, Pacific Islander, Philippino, Nepalese, Europeans and of course the local Chinese.