China's leading wine producing region to host international wine expo in August

This photo taken on July 11, 2024 shows a press conference of the Fourth China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)

YINCHUAN, July 11 (Xinhua) -- International experts and enterprises involved in the wine industry are set to gather in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China's leading wine-producing area, for an expo in August.

The Fourth China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo will be hosted by the regional government from Aug. 9 to 11 in Yinchuan, Ningxia's capital, according to the organizer on Thursday.

The expo, with the theme "Chinese wine, A Marvel to the World -- Good Wine Originates from Unique Terroir," will invite experts and enterprises in the wine-making industry from both home and abroad, as well as officials and representatives of embassies, ministries and international organizations.

More than 60 wineries and exhibitors from countries including France, Australia, Italy, Spain and Chile will attend the three-day expo, which will feature a wine carnival, competitions and other events.

Huang Siming, director of the management committee of a wine industrial park at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, told Xinhua that Ningxia has since 2012 hosted nine editions of the International Wine Expo at Helan Mountains' Eastern Foot and three editions of the International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo.

"The upgrade of the wine expo makes a bigger circle of friends for Ningxia, and helps the region expand its market, share the opportunities and achieve win-win deals with friends through cooperation," said Huang.

Ningxia boasts a unique terroir for making top-class wine, with its prolonged sunshine and a cool, dry climate aiding the cultivation of grapes.

After more than 40 years of development, Ningxia has emerged as China's largest wine-producing region. It boasts 602,000 mu (about 40,133 hectares) of grape plantations and 253 wineries and grape-growing enterprises that produced 140 million bottles of wine in 2023. ■