[Video provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The time-honored Tsingtao Brewery, a leading Chinese beer producer based in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, held a beer festival in Monrovia, capital of Liberia, on Dec 21-22.

This was the first ever Tsingtao Beer Festival held in Africa. Locals could enjoy and share Tsingtao beer products with their loved ones, but also take part in many cultural and art activities.

A 5km mini-marathon and a football match between Weah All-Stars - a football team headed by the Liberian president and former world player of the year, George Weah - and the Tsingtao All-Stars team in Monrovia, were held during the festival's opening ceremony.

People celebrate the first-ever Tsingtao Beer Festival in Monrovia, capital of Liberia. [Photo/huanqiu.com]

"We all know about Tsingtao beer. It's a very famous brand in Liberia. This is the first beer festival in Liberia and my friends came all the way here to enjoy the amazing jamboree," said Philip Parker, a local citizen.

"We hope the festival will be a hit among locals and facilitate further business promotion in Africa," said Xing Zhidong, Tsingtao Brewery's manager in charge of the African market.

Wilson, a local distributor of Tsingtao Beer, said that the festival is not only to promote the sale of the beer, but also to create a festival atmosphere to stimulate the local consumer market.

The Tsingtao Beer Festival is organized in line with the spirit of China's Belt and Road Initiative, designed to promote trade, sports, tourism and culture, and strengthen mutual understanding and friendship among peoples of the world, organizers said.

With the slogan of "One Beer, One Festival, One World", the festival will be held in 15 countries including Singapore, South Korea and Germany from December 2019 to October 2020.

Visitors enjoy themselves at the Tsingtao Beer Festival in Monrovia, capital of Liberia. [Photo/huanqiu.com]

Tsingtao beer is currently one of the top two imported beers in terms of market share in Liberia, which is Tsingtao beer's largest market in Africa. Qingdao has also become one of the most well-known Chinese cities to Liberians thanks to Tsingtao Brewery's decade-long business expansion in the country.

Liberia, located on a key shipping route in West Africa, is known as the "gateway to Africa". It has signed an MOU with China relating to cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative.

Monrovia, its capital, is an important port city in West Africa. It signed an MOU with Qingdao in April to establish sister city ties.

Fu Jijun, Chinese ambassador to Liberia, said that just like other famous beer festivals across the world, the Tsingtao Beer Festival will further promote tourism and culture in the West African nation and deepen Sino-Liberian cooperation.

A customer buys Tsingtao beer at a local supermarket in Monrovia, capital of Liberia. [Photo/huanqiu.com]  

Xinhua contributed to this story.