The sprawling plains of northern Jiangsu belie that which lurks under foot; millions of years of geological change at work resulting in a superlative diamond in the world of liquor production. It’s one recently come to be officially recognised as such.
A 2005 international committee of planetology came to the consensus that our Earth possesses just three regions suitable for the production of the greatest of alcohol. And they would be France, for its cognac; Scotland, for its whisky; and China, specifically Yanghe Town in Suqian, for its baijiu.
It’s the sheer scope of those geological processes at work which this year became responsible for a Guinness World Record.
As per Guinness, “The largest baijiu cellar fermentation plant measures 334,127.08 square metres and was achieved by Jiangsu Yanghe Distillery Co., Ltd. (China) in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, on 4 September, 2024”.
But such international recognition began at the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition, in which Yanghe won a gold award. Its brand, Shuanggou, also scooped a gold medal in that event, something of a world expo held that year in San Francisco.
The longer you do something, the better you get at doing it.
Putting some perspective on the number reflected by the new world record is the fact it is comprised of 70,000 premium liquor fermentation pits, spread over three districts of the Yanghe distillery.
Mainly located within the Suqian Hongze Lake Wetland Ecosystem and Yanghe New Area, this is where fertile soil, abundant rainfall and a mild climate create ground zero for baijiu production. Locally grown grains have a high content of amylopectin, making gelatinisation when steamed a cinch. The end result is a liquor more mellow and soft.
They are facts which were not lost on distillers for centuries, with the fermentation pits dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Into these pits go the sorghum, rice, glutinous rice, wheat, corn, barley, peas, something secret no doubt, and of course, the yeast that together comprise the mash. Out comes a mushy soup of alcoholic grains.
They are just one of the many star attractions at the Yanghe Liquor Factory Cultural Tourist Scenic Area, where tickets for a standard tour costing ¥60 include as much as you want to drink, while those very much physically hard at work around you bring the liquor to life (these are men who have no need for a gym).
Here, members of tour groups are invited to sample the virgin Yanghe, at 70 percent alcohol by volume, direct from the still. Most people Most people take just a sip or two, while some have one or two glasses.
In the product display area, potential buyers’ imaginations are sparked by customisation for zodiacal signs, special occasions, even different cities, and much more, cost just ¥100 extra for a box set of four or six bottles.
But the grandest of sights awaits outside, dubbed “The World’s First Wine Jar”. 9.5 metres high and completed in June 2020, some 100 tonnes of high-grade baijiu rests patiently within, worth at the time ¥600 million. Proclaimed as the world’s largest pottery jar for storing alcohol, it’s also likely the most photographed such jar.
They are all signs of perfection in terms of tourism promotion. And illustrative of the fact that this unlikely neck of the woods has been in the world-record business long before being officially recognised.
Back in Yanghe’s contemporary of Scotland, and in its Gaelic language, “whisky” translates as “water of life”. So it also be in Yanghe Town where the industry of baijiu maintains tens of thousands of jobs, while continuing that began in ancient times; making an incalculable contribution to the indomitable Chinese spirit.
