It's beyond me why anyone would want to drive in Beijing at any time, but with cabs as cheap as they are there’s absolutely no excuse for drink driving – especially with the authorities in the midst of a well-published clamp down on driving under the influence.

Penalties for drink driving can be stiff, as Sun Weiming of Chengdu found last July when he was sentenced to death after causing a pile up that killed four people.

Even if you don’t cause that kind of mayhem, a blood alcohol level over 0.03pc can earn you a license suspension, a fine and in extreme cases time in detention. And as the UK Telegraph’s Peter Foster found out this week, being a foreigner does not mean you don’t have to follow the law.

According to China Daily, 11,696 drivers were caught under the influence in the five days following the launch of a nation-wide campaign on August 15.

So if you’re out for a liquid lunch or a baijiu-fueled banquet, leave the keys at home and take a taxi – or stagger home on the subway.