I’ve been to some strange St. Patrick’s Day parties in my life, but none stranger than the one I went to Saturday night in Zhengzhou.

There I was, sitting in a Chinese bar drinking Guinness, eating Irish stew, listening to “Galway Girl,’’ and watching “Darby O’Gill and the Little People’’ on a big screen. Red is the color of choice in China, but on this night the place was awash in green jackets, green wigs and green dresses, including one worn by a young man for reasons too complicated to explain.

It was like a Dublin pub had been transported to Zhengzhou. Or, more accurately, a Cork pub, since one of the owners is an Irishman named Colin from Charleville, County Cork. He’s been in China for about 10 years, but hasn’t lost any of his Irish brogue.

Colin told me there will be a small St. Patrick’s Day parade on Monday, which will basically involve walking from bar to bar. “Hey, it’s still a parade,’’ he said with a shrug.