Ningxia reaches out to tempt taste buds across the world

The ninth International Wine Expo of Helan Mountain's East Foothill being held from Oct 22 to 23 in Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, is aiming to push the local wine further into the international market by promoting its unique qualities, officials said.

Co-organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ningxia government, the expo is a vital meeting of regional cooperation in the Ningxia wine industry, focusing on wine and culture, tourism, leisure and art.

For pandemic prevention and control, the expo is being held for the first time online and offline.

Around 500 experts and people from domestic and overseas wine organizations, associations and enterprises are taking part in the expo. The expo includes an opening ceremony, a Sino-French wine forum, a wine tourism forum that will publish a list of the world's top 10 wine producing areas and hot spots for investment.

Xue Gang is a member of the organizing committee of the expo and an inspector of the general office of the autonomous region.

He said every year Ningxia produces 130 million bottles of wine. These are exported to more than 20 countries and regions and have a total output value of 26.1 billion yuan ($3.92 billion).

"The wine industry has become an important sector for Ningxia to adjust its industrial structure, transform its development mode, increase farmers' incomes and the area's high-quality development," Xue said. He added that wine is the best option for the region's opening-up.

Zhao Shihua, deputy director of the management committee of East Helan Mountain area's wine industrial park, said the local wine industry first began to grow in the early 1980s.