How long does it take to drink a liter of beer? One teenage boy took under five seconds and earned the honorary title of "Beer King" at a biennial beer drinking contest on Monday in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

A local leading website, Chongqing News Network, reported that native Chongqing boy Lai Zhengfei broke the record by knocking back the beer in 4.8 seconds.

Chen Xiujuan broke the women's record and was dubbed "Beer Queen". Both won 10 thousand yuan or just under 1,300 US dollars, in cash.

The beer drinking contest, a part of the Chongqing Beer Festival that opened on Sunday, required contestants to drink a liter of the amber stuff within one minute.

Another rule also said contestants who vomited soon after finishing their drink are declared to have lost.

The Chongqing Beer Festival also featured music performances and the presence of pop singers.

In addition to watching the beer drinking contest, local residents celebrated the festival with a "down pour" of beer, which has been criticized by many as a sheer waste of resources.

But one man's meat is another man's poison: Chongqing News Network reports the carnival burdened sanitation workers with huge amounts of rubbish as they had to pick up litter scattered around Datianwan Stadium, the festival venue.

Sanitation workers urged participants to stop producing garbage at the festival, which ends on Friday.

The beer festival began in 1999. The city is the fourth biggest beer producer in China, with a market share of around five percent.

A boy bathes in a downpour of beer on Sunday, August 5, 2007, at the Chongqing Beer Festival. This has however been criticized as a big waste of resources.

A female drinker gets wet through with beer as local residents celebrate the biennial Chongqing Beer Festival on Sunday, August 5, 2007. This has however been criticized as a big waste of resources.

A Chongqing native, Lai Zhengfei, wins a beer drinking contest held on Monday, August 6, 2007, by knocking back a liter of beer in 4.8 seconds.

(CRIENGLISH.com August 9, 2007)