Tsingtao Brewery
Tsingtao Brewery (Chinese: 青島啤酒; pinyin: Qīngdǎo píjiǔ) (SEHK: 168) is China's largest brewery. Founded in 1903 by German settlers, it claims about 12% of domestic market share. The beer is produced in Qingdao in Shandong province, but the name of the beer uses the old École française d'Extrême-Orient transliteration. The beer's present-day logo displays an image of Zhan Qiao, a famous pier on Qingdao's southern shore.
Although marketing for the beer emphasizes its Chinese connections, the origins of Tsingtao Beer actually lie with European colonialism in the 19th century. After the Boxer Rebellion, Germany was able to acquire a concession in Shandong, and proceeded to establish many breweries in the area. German breweries especially flourished during the period of Sino-German cooperation from 1911 to 1941. The Germans lost control of Tsingtao to the Japanese early in World War I. See the Battle of Tsingtao for details.
The Tsingtao Brewery was later occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War, and finally retaken by the Chinese. It has now been converted into a museum about the brewery's past, and is found on Dengzhou Road in Taidong district, Qingdao.
Tsingtao Beer was introduced to the United States in 1972, and soon became the top-selling Chinese beer in the U.S. market; it has maintained this leadership within the United States ever since, despite increasing competition from other well known Chinese beer brands, Zhujiang and Yanjing. The Tsingtao brand is sold in more than 50 countries worldwide and accounts for more than 50% of China’s beer exports. Tsingtao is the number-one branded consumer product exported from China. Tsingtao is 27% owned by Anheuser-Busch.
See also
- List of Chinese companies
- Yanjing Beer
- Zhujiang Beer
External links
Categories
Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange | Beer and breweries in China | Chinese alcoholic beverages | 1903 establishments