An emerging form of cultural tourism is offering insights into the rich traditions of the Chinese liquor, attracting thousands of curious travelers to Guizhou Province in the country's southwest.
Distilled from fermented sorghum, baijiu is the most popular form of liquor in China, and the top of the top-shelf is Moutai-style baijiu, which originated in Maotai Town of Guizhou’s Renhuai City.
On the banks of the Chishui River in Renhuai City, a folk event took place on Friday, the Double Ninth Festival, to mark the start of a new round of Moutai-style liquor production.
Each year, Renhuai holds this special event to attract tourists eager to experience the region's liquor culture.
"I've always been fascinated by Moutai-style liquor, but seeing the production process and learning about the culture of Moutai-style liquor up close was truly breathtaking," said a visitor.
To further drive the integration of liquor and tourism, local distilleries are constantly innovating their processes while creating new experiences by opening their production facilities to the public.
"Our smart production workshops, digital wine cellars, intelligent packaging lines, products and exhibition halls are all open to the public. We've even developed an immersive experience where consumers can witness the brewing culture and production process of Moutai-style liquor firsthand," said Zhou Xinle, deputy general manager of Guotai Digital Smart Liquor Group.
During the National Day holiday, Maotai Town received 282,900 visitors, generating over 170 million yuan (more than 24 million U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue, according to data from the Zunyi Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau.
Travelers pour into China's liquor capital to imbibe in Moutai culture
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.
Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.
Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.
The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.
Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.
The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.
Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest
