游戏之夜 - Games Night

The last week has been unseasonably cold and this, coupled with the incessant rain, has meant we've had to come up with new ideas for things to do indoors. This isn't the first games night I've been to in Liuzhou but it was the most fun...

First, we had to come up with a suitable games list for the 11 attendees so, in order of simplest to most complex: Jenga, Heads Up and The Werewolves of Millers Hollow were on the menu. I'd never played The Werewolves of Millers Hollow before but it was a bit of a revelation, especially when I found out that you can play in a group of up to 47 people. I think the game is probably better as the number of players increases so hopefully we'll have more people in attendance next time to join in.

We met at 窑埠古镇 Yaobu Old Town, a (somewhat counterintuitively) brand new development of bars, restaurants, shops and cafes along the riverfront. Our venue of choice was unexpectedly closed for the evening but, this being Liuzhou, there was a friendly boss of another nearby bar on hand to help out. Hearing what we had planned, he gave us a private room to use, complete with leather couches, KTV, and a river view. Result!

The venue was comfortable, the games were good, and the drinks cheap. On a cold, sodden night, there's not a lot more you can ask for. If you're in Liuzhou, whether it's for a visit or a longer stay, contact us via email to get involved in future events. Also, if you fancy a change of scenery, there are plenty of jobs available in the city now at competitive salaries - get in touch!

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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...

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...

真人CS - Real Life Counter Strike

If you ask a young person in China what they're doing after class, they might tell you they're going to 吃鸡 or "eat chicken" - contrary to what you might be thinking, this actually means they're going to be playing video games, such as Crossfire or PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), which are huge among Chinese gamers. Counter Strike (CS) was one of the first shooting games to get a foothold here and, around the same time, real life shooting games such as paintball, BB shooting or laser quest also became popular. The Chinese call these physical games 真人CS or "Real Person CS". Played in small arenas, often in underground spaces such as disused car parks, the experience is like being part of a real life video game. After visiting last month, we knew that this had to become a regular event for Liuzhou Meet & Learn. This time, we took three teams of six players. The format is simple: like a squad based Battle Royale video game (the Chinese c...

Liuzhou Meet & Learn

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