干杯 - gān bēi - cheers!

Drinking is among the many many MANY cultural differences between China and the west.

Women rarely drink.  It's normal for me to drink a bottle of wine with friends but it isn't for Chinese women.  Sometimes in the middle of the day on Mondays I'll go to a cafe with 2 girlfriends and drink a bottle of wine.  (Since I work the weekend this is essentially my Saturday.)  To the girls serving us the wine this is a completely foreign concept and I can feel the strange looks.  I know Chinese girls that drink but it is a very small percentage.  Smoking is even less common.  I've heard Chinese girls say if they are with a Chinese girl that starts smoking they don't want to be with her anymore.  They compared it to being seen with a prostitute.

When men drink they often buy all the beer they're going to drink at the beginning.  It's very common to see a table covered with beers and/or empty bottles.   This feeds into the concept of 'face' and taking pride in what they are able to drink - and losing 'face' if they're not able to keep up with friends and coworkers. 

báijiǔ often accompanies the beer.  It is a white alcohol that is very cheap and incredibly strong.  It is done in shots.  It's disrespectful to turn down a shot and if you don't do the shot you lose face. 

I found an article in China Daily about Chinese drinking. Here's a few quotes I found relevant:
"Drinking can earn trust and friendship, and not drinking can spoil a deal and undermine relationships. Heavy drinking seems to be a prerequisite for doing business," he said.
"To drink or not to drink, that's a matter of face," said Liu Hao, a senior at a university in Beijing. Always embarrassed by his limited tolerance to alcohol, Liu said he often finds himself in a situation where drinking is obligatory.
"Although I don't like the feeling of being sloshed, I respond to toasts, which are popular in campus life now," Liu said. But he said he wished he could hold his liquor better, seeing that many jobs advertisements nowadays demand applicants have a tolerance for alcohol.

Hard to imagine right???  Because of this I've seen more grown men puking on the streets then I care to count or ever wanted to see.  I've lived in Cancun and New Orleans and I see soooo much more throw up here than I did in those 2 cities combined.  It's everywhere in the morning.  On my way to the gym sometimes I count at least 4 piles of throw up - DAILY.  Yes, it's disgusting!  When I first started seeing it I thought people were dumping food.  I did not want to believe it was what it looked like.   I guess just like all the other differences this is something you just have to say 'well I'm in China' and shrug your shoulders.  I'm not here to judge them and their culture - just to learn about it.