I had a similar situation going into Beijing but instead of chugging it, I had to place it in a briefcase I bought quickly at the airport gift store and check it as luggage. I wrote about that in Shaolin Trips - Episode Two.

What to do with expensive alcohol before boarding a flight? Why, chug it, of course!

Krista Rogers
5 days ago



What would you do if you were about to catch a flight but were then told that you couldn’t bring a bottle of alcohol worth approximately 8,000-yuan (US$1,290) onto the plane? Hands up if you’d down it in a matter of minutes!

On June 20, a man at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in southeast China was stopped as he was about to board his plane. The reason? Airport officials had discovered a cute tiger ornament in his possession that had an unscrewable head, which subsequently revealed the animal to be full of a high-grade, revitalizing alcohol.

Now, it might seem strange to seasoned travelers that anyone could commit such a rookie mistake as trying to bring a large quantity of liquid in with their carry-on luggage onto the plane. However, it just so happens that June 20 of this year marked the traditional Duanwu Festival, otherwise known as the Dragon Boat Festival, throughout parts of China. Many people were traveling to be with relatives around that time, including complete airport newbies, so airport security had to deal with an unusually high number of these types of incidents over the past few weeks.

With hardly any time left before the plane’s departure to dash off and store it in his checked luggage, what was the man to do? Rather than dump the precious, 8,000-yuan ($1,290) bottle of liquid down the drain, he began chugging it in turns with his younger brother, who also happened to be a fellow passenger on the flight:



▼ You go, little bro!



▼ The tiger-shaped vessel, which could easily be mistaken for a decoration




Despite warnings from the airport staff that the brothers wouldn’t be allowed on the plane if they were completely drunk, we have to guess that they made it to their final destination safely, although with a bit lighter luggage in tow.

Hopefully this tale will remind everyone to stay well aware of safety regulations before traveling, so that no one else finds themselves in the middle of an impromptu Oktoberfest at the airport like these guys did!