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After spending the day there yesterday, here are some tips: Buying a ticket before 5pm is cheaper than after 5pm - 10 kuai before, 20 kuai after. Before 5pm the place isn't busy, while after 5pm the crowds start to grow. There are 2 distinct types of tent this year: brewery owned and independent. At some brewery-owned tents, expect a fee after 5pm, for example to sit in the Harbin beer tent costs 300 kuai for a plastic table and 400 kuai for a bench (not per hour, all evening). The German Oktoberfest tent was as overcrowded as every year, with expensive beer and slow service. Decent beer can be got in a few other places, my favourite was the Baltica tent, Baltica is a Russian brand (see here for the beers they had - number 2 to 9). The bigger brewery tents had some more unusual beers at inexpensive prices (5 kuai for a small bottle to 30 kuai for a more unusual draft was typical), but the table fee meant the cost was inflated quite a bit by moving around. I would recommend not going for the draft beer, as it, in typical fashion, is poured from the tap to large plastic mugs, let to sit (and lose all fizz) for a minute/hour, then poured into a glass - it is retarded. The independent tents did not have an evening table fee, which was nice. Their downside was a more limited amount of beer available - common brands you'll see in any supermarket here in Dalian. Still, some decent drinks could still be had. Avoid the food! Arriving at 2pm and doing a quick circuit of the square, it was clear food hygiene was not a priority for many stalls. Squid were left in the summer sun with no attempt of refigeration (or even putting them in some shade), kebabs (chuar) were being pre-cooked (half cooked, half raw) hours before enough people could arrive and satisfy the amount being pre-cooked. And the cost! Make sure you ask how much the food costs before it arrives, because you could be in for a nasty surprise - one stall attempted to charge us 100 kuai for 10 chuar (they were quite a bit larger than the average street-side chuar, but did not justify that price). Arrive early, and enjoy!