YINCHUAN, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The first China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo kicked off on Saturday in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
According to the organizers, more than 180 vineyards and wine-related enterprises participated in the exhibition.
Compared with major international wine producers, China's modern wine industry started late, and the Helan Mountain wine area in Ningxia is even younger.
While in a few decades, the edge of the Gobi Desert has been transformed with extending vineyards irrigated by water sourced from the Yellow River.
Over the years, Ningxia has burgeoned into a major winemaking region in China. It has 211 wine chateaux -- completed or under construction -- with an annual output of 130 million bottles of wine.
In July this year, the National Open Development Comprehensive Pilot Zone for Grape and Wine Industry, the first of its kind in China, was set up in Ningxia with an objective of turning the region into China's Bordeaux.
People visit the first China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Tang Rufeng)
People visit the first China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Tang Rufeng)
An exhibitor prepares wine at the first China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Tang Rufeng)
A visitor tastes wine at the first China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Tang Rufeng)
Photo taken on July 10, 2021 shows the National Open Development Comprehensive Pilot Zone for Grape and Wine Industry in Minning Township, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)
Aerial photo taken on July 6, 2021 shows farmers working at a vineyard at the foot of Helan Mountain in Xixia District of Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)
A staff member (R) and a student from the Food and Wine College of Ningxia University taste wine at a chateau located in the east foothill of Helan Mountain, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, July 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)
Graduate students make an experiment at a lab of the Food and Wine College of Ningxia University in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, July 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)
Produced by Xinhua Global Service■
