Foreign Photographers Explore China’s Thousand-Year-Old Baijiu Heritage through Wuliangye

The event themed “Explore China’s Thousand-Year-Old Baijiu Heritage through Wuliangye” was held in Yibin City, Sichuan Province from April 25 to 27, co-organized by the Wuliangye Group and Guangming Online, where 16 foreign photographers were invited to visit the company. Through their camera lenses, photographers recorded the intangible cultural heritage of the Wuliangye traditional distillation technique, enjoyed the Baijiu, and learned about traditional Chinese Baijiu culture.

Greek photographer George Doupas takes photos at Wuliangye company, Yibin City, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

South African photographer Matthew Sylvester takes pictures at Wuliangye company, Yibin City, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

Greek photographer George Doupas and Russian photographer Valentina Ivanova take pictures at Wuliangye company, Yibin City, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

To purpose of the program was to let foreign photographers learn more about the history of Wuliangye Baijiu and its distillation techniques. As one of the representatives of Chinese nongxiangxing Baijiu, Wuliangye Baijiu, literally “five-grains liquor”, is distilled from five grains - sorghum, rice, glutinous rice, wheat, and corn – with an ancient recipe that has been passed down through generations. This traditional distillation technique has become a national intangible cultural heritage.

During the event, foreign photographers visited the scenic Wuliangye company site, the ancient workshop 501, workshop 503 of Ming Dynasty cellar mud living conservation complex, and workshop 523. The guests were fascinated by the distillers’ grains, the ancient cellar mud, and the workshop workers who were working to distill Baijiu through various processes. The guests also had a chance to try different flavors of Baijiu distilled in different workshops.

Workers of workshop 523 are at work at Wuliangye company, Yibin City, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Junye Zhang/Guangming Online)

Ghanaian photographer Agbedor Lambert Selorm tries to learn Baijiu distillation work at a workshop in Wuliangye company, Yibin City, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

Russian photographer Valentina Ivanova take pictures at a workshop in Wuliangye company, Yibin City, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

Cao Hongying, China’s top liquor taster and director of Wuliangye’s blending workshop 506, explained and demonstrated Wuliangye’s “blending Baijiu with Baijiu” technique to the guests. This is a unique technique developed by Wuliangye, where different flavors of Baijiu from various workshops are blended to create the final finished Baijiu, which has the most ideal taste.

Foreign photographers pose for group photos with the Wuliangye blender team led by Cao Hongying at Wuliangye company, Yibin City, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

Throughout the program, foreign photographers gained a deeper understanding of China’s Baijiu culture, where they learned more about its history, traditions, and cultural connotations. Through first-hand experience, they were able to witness the distilling process at Wuliangye to see the complexity of Baijiu-making. The exchange of culture and ideas opened a new window for foreign guests to appreciate traditional Chinese culture and intangible cultural heritages in China.

Foreign photographers are in front of the Wuliangye bottle building at Pengcheng Square at Wuliangye company, Yibin City, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)