Hong Kong Media's Guizhou Tour: Tasting Sauce-Aroma Baijiu at 4A-Level Scenic Spot

A delegation from the Publicity Department of the Guizhou Provincial Committee, along with more than ten Hong Kong media representatives, embarked on a six-day media tour of Guizhou starting April 22 to explore innovation in the integration of the province's cultural and tourism industries.

Colorful Guizhou City, Photo by Bastille Post

Colorful Guizhou City, Photo by Bastille Post

On the first afternoon, the delegation visited Colorful Guizhou City, a 4A-level scenic spot and a comprehensive tourism destination in Guiyang that integrates culture, commerce, sports, and tourism. Positioned as "the pearl of colorful Guizhou's scenery, the living room of refreshing Guiyang, and a dazzling city that never sleeps," Colorful Guizhou City aims to offer tourists a one-stop experience of Guizhou's culinary and shopping delights, making it a must-visit destination within the province and a top attraction for out-of-province visitors. The site has been recognised as a "Guizhou Provincial Cultural Industry Demonstration Base," a "Provincial-Level Commercial Pedestrian Street in Guizhou," and a "Benchmark Project Presenting Guiyang's Cultural, Commercial, and Tourism Integration."

Colorful Guizhou City, Photo by Bastille Post

Colorful Guizhou City, Photo by Bastille Post

The core area of Colorful Guizhou City includes the Colorful World and the 1958 Cultural and Creative Park, covering approximately 243 mus, with a total commercial area of about 100,000 square metres. Focused on the goal of "one-stop shopping and dining in Guizhou," the site emphasises attracting businesses in four key sectors: specialty coffee, craft beer, fine dining, and innovative cultural and creative products. Currently, 123 businesses have settled in, attracting over 1.6 million visitors last year.

Colorful Guizhou City, Photo by Bastille Post

The Colorful Guizhou Cultural Exhibition Centre, located within the site, features exhibits themed around "dyeing, weaving, creation, culture, artefacts, and embroidery," showcasing the intangible cultural heritage techniques of Guizhou's ethnic minorities, including indigo dyeing and embroidery.

The introduction of the staff of the exhibition centre, Photo by Bastille Post

"The Spirit of the Golden Pheasant", Photo by Bastille Post

According to the staff of the exhibition centre, "The Spirit of the Golden Pheasant" is the signature item of the exhibition, which was the closing piece at London Fashion Week in 2020, elevating the work from a local cultural expression to an international aesthetic masterpiece. The staff noted that "The Spirit of the Golden Pheasant" was created by 48 artisans from Ninghang Batik in Danzhai of Guizhou, and took three months to complete. Its most distinctive feature is a 15-metre-long "fish tail."

Four types of sauce-aroma baijiu can be sampled at the Sauce Aroma International Club. Photo by Bastille Post

Four types of sauce-aroma baijiu, Photo by Bastille Post

The baijiu produced in Guizhou Province, Photo by Bastille Post

The delegation later visited the Sauce Aroma International Club to learn about the origins and main production areas of baijiu, and sampled four types of sauce-aroma baijiu: traditional, elegant, rich, and light. The person in charge of the club said that locals in Guizhou Province prefer the traditional type, while visitors from other provinces tend to favour the lighter version, appreciating its pronounced grassy aroma. Tasting the traditional type firsthand, the reporter noted a noticeable warmth upon swallowing. Despite the alcohol content being 53 per cent, the liquor does not leave drinkers feeling intoxicated.

Authentic Guizhou Living Pavilion, Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Colorful Guizhou City also features the Authentic Guizhou Living Pavilion, which sells batik products, tea, perfumes, and other specialties. Additionally, the wine house on the site has a wine aroma experience area, where visitors can smell and even sample different wines.

The wine house on the site, Photo by Bastille Post

Visitors can sample different wines, including famous Chinese Moutai, at the wine house. Photo by Bastille Post

The wine aroma experience area, Photo by Bastille Post

The special version of Moutai displayed at the wine house (upper row), Photo by Bastille Post

On July 21, the media delegation from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area continued the "Retracing the Long March" reporting trip through Zunyi, arriving in Maotai Town and Tucheng Town to trace the historic route of the Red Army's legendary "Four Crossings of the Chishui River" and experience the deep-rooted wine culture along its banks.

Tucheng Town, Photo by Bastille Post

The first crossing of the Chishui was born out of the Red Army's setback at the Battle of Qinggangpo in Tucheng. Having originally planned to cross the Yangtze River northward, the Red Army encountered fierce resistance from the Sichuan forces at Qinggangpo. To avoid encirclement, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission decisively abandoned the northward plan and instead moved westward across the Chishui. With help from local residents who contributed doors and planks, the Red Army built pontoon bridges overnight at locations including Tucheng and Yuanhou, marking the beginning of the Four Crossings.

The memorial site of the Battle of Qinggangpo in Tucheng, Photo by Bastille Post

The memorial site of the Battle of Qinggangpo in Tucheng, Photo by Bastille Post

The message appealing for peace at the memorial site, Photo by Bastille Post

Lin Chengying, daughter-in-law of veteran Red Army soldier He Mulin, recalled that after He Mulin was wounded at Qinggangpo, he remained in Tucheng Town. But because his Jiangxi accent made him immediately recognisable, he was forced to pretend to be deaf and mute for 14 years to protect the villagers who had sheltered him.

Lin Chengying, Photo by Bastille Post

She said He Mulin only began speaking again after the founding of the People's Republic of China. But after years of silence, his vocal cords had weakened, making fluent speech difficult. He then practised by the Chishui River for four years, like a child learning to speak, until he gradually regained his speech ability. In the years that followed, he devoted himself to spreading the Long March spirit at the Qinggangpo battlefield site and the Chishui ferry crossing.

The portrait of He Mulin, Photo by Bastille Post

Under his influence, Lin Chengying not only committed to memorizing the Red Army stories he told, but also learned to sing Red Army songs. After He Mulin's passing in 1979, she made it her daily schedule to open her door and share those stories with passing tourists.

The film Crossing, produced to mark the 90th anniversary of the Long March victory, was shot on location in Tucheng Town, drawing visitors to its ancient red walls, black-tiled roofs and old streets. Whenever tourists paused, Lin Chengying would "set aside whatever she's doing and start telling stories," determined that the legacy of the Red Army should endure on this soil.

The film "Crossing," produced to mark the 90th anniversary of the Long March victory, was shot on location in Tucheng Town. Photo by Bastille Post

That same day, the media delegation also visited Moutai Town, tracing the Red Army's three crossings of the Chishui. While the first crossing was a reluctant move forced by circumstances, the other three actions were deliberate strategic manoeuvres. At the time, the Red Army was encircled by hundreds of thousands of troops in Zunyi, with no hope of breaking through directly. So they made a show of crossing the river at Moutai Town, feigning a northward march to Sichuan, drawing the main enemy force away, and exploiting the weakened defences of Guizhou to cross the Chishui for a fourth time, successfully breaking the encirclement.

The newly built Red Army Bridge at the river, Photo by Bastille Post

Before stepping into the Moutai Chinese Liquor Culture City, the air was thick with the aroma of Moutai. The garden-style exhibition hall, with sections representing the Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties and the modern era, traces the development of China's wine industry over millennia and reveals a little-known story linking Moutai with the Red Army.

The Moutai Chinese Liquor Culture City, Photo by Bastille Post

During the Long March, the Red Army was short of medical supplies. Many soldiers suffered from foot ulcers and infected wounds. The sauce-aroma baijiu produced in Maotai Town, with its high alcohol content and strong antibacterial properties, was temporarily requisitioned for disinfection. Soldiers used cloth soaked in the liquor to clean wounds or rub swollen feet to relieve fatigue. Leaders including Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao later recalled on many occasions that Moutai "made a great contribution" during the Long March.

The Moutai cartoon mascot, Photo by Bastille Post

Leaving the exhibition hall, the delegation arrived at the Maotai Ferry, walked onto the Red Army Bridge, and gazed down at the flowing Chishui River, gaining a deeper appreciation of the immense challenge posed by the "Four Crossings." Just as Moutai undergoes nine distillations, eight fermentations and seven extractions, taking more than five years to reach maturity, the Long March, too, was a journey of endurance and resilience, step by step over time.

Photo by Bastille Post