礼拜六的聚会－ Saturday Night Meetup

Ephesians 5:18 says: "and do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the spirit." If you've ever been drinking in China, you'll likely doubt the word of god here and agree that it's best to stay away from the spirits - they're almost certainly fake! Actually, and as if you needed another excuse to hit the beers, remember that wine in China is generally fake as well. I'm not sure where I was going with that quote.

Anyway, founded around 4 months ago, Liuzhou Meet & Learn has quickly become the biggest and liveliest social event in Liuzhou. Whilst definitely not debaucherous, there are certainly some drinks to be had every Saturday night at our regular meeting. We have over 30 attendees every week, and a total membership of nearly 100 people, ready to meet new local and foreign friends, to share their language, their thoughts and more.

When we first arrived in the city, we found there wasn't really an opportunity for the expat and local communities to mix in a casual, but organised and regular, way. Whilst it's great to 干杯 (literally "dry glass" or down drinks) with farmers at the roadside BBQ restaurants, the conversation never really extends beyond the locals expressing their amazement at a foreigner's ability to use chopsticks and eat spicy food. So, with that in mind, and a wish to break away from the more negative elements of the expat community in the city, we started a meetup at our favourite bar. Things caught on fast, and our membership continues to grow.

We welcome visitors to Liuzhou, and any locals of course, to join the party. All we ask is that you bring a positive attitude and that you socialise with other attendees in Chinese or English (or any other language, for that matter) - please don't play with your phone for the whole evening! We get together from 8pm every Saturday night and we're always happy to welcome new members.

Here are some pictures from our recent meetups; if you fancy joining in, send us a message to get the location.

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烧烤 - BBQ

Whilst Brits tend towards pubs and bars for their evening socialising, the locals in Liuzhou go to the 烧烤 BBQ to chat and drink late into the night. These restaurants are on roadsides throughout the city and, given the great weather in summer here, provide the best opportunity for some al fresco dining with Chinese characteristics. By all means go to the BBQ for your main meal but many locals, after having dinner at home or elsewhere, descend on these restaurants for 宵夜, which roughly translates as a "midnight snack". Sitting outside on benches or yellow plastic chairs, you'll see dozens of tables packed with people eating 烤鱼 BBQ fish, 串 skewers of meat and veg, 炒米粉 fried rice noodles and other specialities. As well as the regular BBQ stalls, there are also some speciality places, including our favourite Mongolian style restaurant which serves up the most amazing lamb legs and ribs. Sitting in 30 degree heat at 11pm, eating amazing food, drinking cold, cheap, wate...

夜店－ Nightclubs

I'll be the first to admit that I am probably not the most suitable person to be writing this post, due primarily to my advancing years and fading memories of youthful nights spent at Bagley's and Camden Palace. Incidentally, when your reference points for a night out are warehouse raves that were closed down more than a decade ago, you're probably not in a position of authority to talk about the modern EDM scene. The Chinese call outdated references such as these 暴露年纪 which means they "expose your age". Regardless, here I am. The nightclub scene in Liuzhou is a big part of the lives of some of our members, and many of the local people here, so who am I to dismiss it? The undoubted king of nightclubs in Liuzhou is 上上 "Song & Song" which is open every evening until the early hours. Serving up a music selection that varies from EDM to EDM via a bit more EDM, it is rammed every night of the week, in contrast to many other late night establishm...

国庆节 - National Day

Famous for being the busiest travel week of the year, when foreign residents who've spent any period of time in China will tell you to stay at home to avoid the crowds, 国庆节 National Day, or 黄金周 Golden Week, is a public holiday where seemingly the entire country leaves their villages and crowds into the cities and popular travel destinations. I experienced the holiday last year and, as such, decided to stay in Liuzhou this time, to avoid (not entirely successfully) being jostled and gawped at by tens of thousands of farmers. Besides, one of our members at Liuzhou Meet & Learn has some connections within the local tourism department and wanted some foreign volunteers to be taken around the city to attend the various events taking place. So, four members from our group set off to be photographed doing everything from walking around, to eating noodles, to being force fed tea by members of the local ethnic minority groups. One thing that is so seductive about living in a sm...

Liuzhou Meet & Learn

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