Company drinks

At job fairs in China you often see advertisements for positions that specify a height or age (for secretaries or security guards, for instance). But a public relations recruiter at a job fair in Hubei province had more specific demands: a woman capable of drinking at least half a litre of liquor (at a time). In modern China, corporate entertainment often involves toasting clients with local wines – called baijiu. Sorghum-based Moutai is the most famous and is no pushover to drink, with a 53% alcohol content. According to the Wuhan Evening News the ‘booze’ requirement forced “many women” to withdraw job applications to work at the PR firm.

© ChinTell Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sponsored by HSBC.

The Week in China website and the weekly magazine publications are owned and maintained by ChinTell Limited, Hong Kong. Neither HSBC nor any member of the HSBC group of companies ("HSBC") endorses the contents and/or is involved in selecting, creating or editing the contents of the Week in China website or the Week in China magazine. The views expressed in these publications are solely the views of ChinTell Limited and do not necessarily reflect the views or investment ideas of HSBC. No responsibility will therefore be assumed by HSBC for the contents of these publications or for the errors or omissions therein.