Chinese beer lovers leave facemasks and worries behind as festival opens

People enjoying beer and food during the annual Qingdao Beer Festival in Qingdao, in China's Shandong province. Thousands of beer lovers left their facemasks and virus worries behind to gather in large crowds and raise a much-needed glass as the annual Qingdao beer festival opened over the weekend. - AFP

BEIJING, Aug 3 (AFP): Thousands of Chinese beer lovers left their facemasks and virus worries behind to gather in large crowds and raise a much-needed glass as the annual Qingdao beer festival opened over the weekend.

China has largely brought the coronavirus outbreak under control through a series of lockdowns and restrictions, and the small number of cases reassured beer-lovers to turn out despite the global pandemic.