Company Special: Gujinggong toasts Chinese liquor in France

Gujing Group Co Ltd, producer of time-honored Gujinggong Liquor, is stepping up efforts to introduce Chinese spirits to the world and help promote cultural exchanges.

Its latest effort is an international tour of its liquor, with the most recent destination of France. At a forum held by the company on Dec 3 in Paris, Chinese and French experts discussed various types of liquor, their production techniques and different drinking cultures across the world.

The effort is playing a major role in the global marketing of Chinese liquor, Liu Xiuhua, vice-chairman of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association, said at the forum.

French experts said the forum gives them a window onto Chinese liquor culture and helps boost exchanges between nations.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic relations. The tour by Gujing Group was the first event related to drinking culture to celebrate the anniversary.

Gujing Group, headquartered in Bozhou city of East China's Anhui province, is one of the nation's eight well-known makers of white spirits, or baijiu, according to the company's website. Its website says Gujinggong Liquor "is as clear as crystal, smells like orchids and tastes mellow".

The history of the white spirits can be dated back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 220-265) when Cao Cao, a famed politician and soldier born in Bozhou, presented liquor from his hometown to the emperor. The liquor - Gujinggong Liquor - later became a tribute to royal families.

The liquor's tour of France also included visits to Bordeaux, the world's wine center, and Cognac, a renowned brandy and grape production region. Bozhou city signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with Cognac.

"Cooperation between the two renowned liquor producing regions will further help Chinese white spirits go global," said Wei Ligeng, deputy mayor of Bozhou.

The first destination of the international tour was the United States in January. During the US leg of the journey, 19 bottles of Gujinggong Liquor were auctioned for $3.58 million in New York in the first overseas auction of Chinese white spirits.

Gujing Group said its product will be the only liquor provided at the Chinese Pavilion of the 2015 Milan World Expo to be held between May 1 and Oct 31 next year.

The liquor is also among national gifts presented by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to foreign guests.

Gujing Group, which originated from a distillery in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was officially founded in 1992 and went public four years later.

It opened the Gujing Baijiu Culture Museum in 1994, introducing Chinese drinking culture and displaying different kinds of white spirits produced by the company down through history. 

In 2013, production sites for Gujinggong Liquor were classified as major cultural relics. The company now has more than 8,000 staff members and has businesses in liquor, hospitality, real estate, processing of agricultural products and financial services.

The brand value of Gujinggong Liquor is 30.15 billion yuan ($4.85 billion), sixth among various baijiu brands, according figures from the China National Association for Liquor and Spirits Circulation this year.

songmengxing@chinadaily.com.cn