City 8th in holiday drinking rankings

SHANGHAI residents ranked eighth on China's mainland for the amount of alcohol they drank over the Spring Festival holiday, according to an online survey.

The survey of 31 regions and provinces by news portal Sohu.com found that, on average, every Shanghai adult consumed 182.3 milliliters of alcohol over the seven-day Lunar New Year break.

This is the equivalent of nine standard glasses of wine or six pints of strong beer.

China's thirstiest drinkers over the holiday were residents of the southwest Chongqing Municipality, with each downing, on average, 244.5ml of alcohol.

The survey threw up findings at odds with stereotypes.

While northeastern natives have a reputation as big drinkers, none of the three northeast provinces, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, featured in the top 15.

Instead, eastern China's Zhejiang Province ranked second, with each adult on average consuming 229ml of liquor over the holiday.

Participants in the survey also rated how much they enjoyed drinking.

The happiest drinkers were to be found in Beijing, followed by the eastern Shandong Province and neighboring Hebei Province. Shanghai came ninth.

The poll found that 60 percent of drinkers choose to have a glass before going to bed, as experts have said a drink then helps with blood circulation.

Nearly half of drinkers are aged between 26 and 35, according to the survey.