A foreign student in Dalian has recently pulled through a coma caused after hastily drinking two bottles of Chinese rice wine which he was forbidden to take on board the plane in his carry-on bags, the Dalian Airport in Liaoning Province reported on Sunday. 

The student, 2 meters tall and in his 20s, studied at a university in Dalian and was taking a flight to Harbin, capital city of Heilongjiang Province. He was found unconscious on the floor at the No. 7 boarding gate in the Waiting Hall of the airport, a policeman of the Airport Branch of the Dalian Public and Security Bureau, who would only give his surname Cai, told the Global Times Tuesday. 

After being told that he should have put the rice wine in his stowaway luggage rather than in his carry-on bags, he poured all the liquid down his throat at a breath at the security check passage on 8 am Sunday before fainting at the passage's exit.

"The doctors from the airport's emergency center were soon dispatched to hospitalize the student," Cai said. "However, his increasingly pallid face urged us to send him to the Dalian Central Hospital in case of any life-threatening danger." 

Cai said more detailed information could be reached through the airport office, though calls to the office have remained unanswered.

Passengers are forbidden to take liquids in bottles and cans onto planes in their carry-on bags. No more than one liter of an alcoholic beverage, packaged in accordance with the stipulated requirements of the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA), can be carried onto a flight, as per regulations from the CAA that took effect on May 1, 2008. 

Tourists can also deposit wine at the airport for one month, after when it will be disposed of by airport police, the announcement said. 

Nathan Jubb, a British English teacher in Hangzhou, told the Global Times that he knew travelers could only take a limited quantity of liquids on board a flight. 

"Foreigners often want to take a special feature of Chinese culture to their next destination, especially when they are visiting or returning home," Jubb said. "But it is also reasonable for the airport to set the limit at 1 liter of liquid that has been properly packaged," he added. 

Cai stated that travelers, especially tourists, would be advised not to resort to extreme means when encountering problems at the airport.

He suggested arriving two hours in advance and asking the police or service stuff at the airport for help in cases of emergency.