Wuliangye

Wuliangye Group Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Company) is a large state-owned enterprise group with the liquor industry as its core, also involving intelligent manufacturing, food packaging, modern logistics, financial investment, and health industry. Its leading product, Wuliangye liquor, has a long history and profound cultural heritage. It is a typical representative of Chinese strong-flavor baijiu and a famous national brand, having won the title of "National Famous Liquor" multiple times, and was among the first batch to be included in the China-EU Geographical Indications Agreement protection list. In 2019, the Company's sales revenue exceeded 100 billion yuan; in 2020, Wuliangye's market value surpassed one trillion yuan; in 2021, it ranked on the "Global Brand Value 500" and "China Brand Value 100" lists.

Ecological environment. The Company's headquarters is located in Yibin, a city with over 4,000 years of brewing history, one of the world's top ten liquor-producing regions, the first city along the Yangtze River, and the Liquor Capital of China. With its superior natural environment, unique three-river ecology, no severe cold in winter, no extreme heat in summer, rare frost and snow, abundant rainfall, and an average annual temperature of around 17.9°C, the region is rich in biodiversity and particularly suitable for the growth and reproduction of brewing microorganisms. It has been hailed by UNESCO and the Food and Agriculture Organization as "a region at the same latitude on Earth suitable for brewing high-quality pure distilled liquor."

Historical heritage. Wuliangye liquor is the Company's leading product, made from five grains—sorghum, rice, glutinous rice, wheat, and corn—using ancient brewing techniques. It is the world's first liquor crafted from five different grains. Its multi-grain solid-state fermentation history spans over a thousand years, starting with "Chongbi Wine" in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). In 765 AD, the great poet Du Fu passed through Yibin and was entertained by the local governor, Yang Shijun, at the East Tower, where he was served Chongbi wine. After drinking, Du Fu marveled and wrote the poem "Feast at Yang Shijun's East Tower in Rongzhou": "Superb and stunning, surprising in my old age; I forget all worries, my spirit stirred. Seated close to singing girls, I let the host indulge in music. I savor the green spring wine, and peel light red lychees. The tower is high, stirring melancholy; a horizontal flute blows continually." In 782 AD, under an imperial edict of Emperor Dezong of Tang, Chongbi wine was officially designated as the local official tribute wine.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the prominent gentleman Yao Junyu established the Yao's Winery in Yibin. On the basis of Chongbi wine, after repeated trials, he brewed the "Yaozi Xuequ" using five grains—sorghum, rice, glutinous rice, buckwheat, and millet—along with the local Anle Spring water. In 1098 AD, the renowned Northern Song literary figure Huang Tingjian, then serving as an assistant in Fuzhou, resided in Rongzhou (present-day Yibin). He socialized with local celebrities and, while toasting, composed the "Ode to Anle Spring" praising Yaozi Xuequ: "Yaozi Xuequ, jade-white in the cup; The soup is rich, clouds rise from the valley. Clear but not insipid, thick but not turbid; Sweet but not nauseating, pungent but not irritating. My old hand suffers from wind ailment; This divine remedy is truly needed. My eyes blur as I compose this ode; My brush strokes slant in ink."

In the early Ming Dynasty, the Chen family founded the "Wendefeng" winery, integrating the essence of Yaozi Xuequ's brewing method. They replaced millet in the original five-grain formula with corn, newly introduced from overseas, ultimately forming a more perfect "Chen Family Secret Recipe."

In the late Qing Dynasty, Deng Zijun inherited the "Wendefeng" winery and renamed it "Lichuanyong." In 1909, Deng Zijun brought his liquor to a banquet of local dignitaries. Yang Huiquan, a late Qing dynasty scholar, tasted it and remarked, "Such an excellent brew, yet called 'Mixed Grain Wine,' seems too mundane; while 'Yaozi Xuequ' is elegant, it does not fully convey its charm. Since this liquor embodies the essence of five grains to produce a jade-like liquid, why not rename it 'Wuliangye' (Five Grains Liquid)?" All present applauded, and Deng Zijun readily adopted the name, marking the official naming of Wuliangye.

In 1952, eight famous ancient breweries in Yibin—Lichuanyong, Changfasheng, Quanchangheng, Tianxifu, Zhangwanhe, Zhongsanhe, Tingyue Lou, and Liudingxing—merged to form a joint cooperative. In 1954, Deng Zijun contributed the Chen Family Secret Recipe and served as a technical advisor. In 1959, the enterprise was renamed Wuliangye Distillery.

In 1963, Wuliangye participated in the first National Liquor Evaluation Conference. This conference, which utilized mixed grouping and coded numbering, conducted blind tastings of all baijiu without considering flavor types. Due to its high standards, wide coverage of samples, and strict evaluation criteria, it is widely considered the first truly national liquor evaluation event. At the conference, experts highly praised Wuliangye for its "lingering aroma, mellow taste, sweet entrance, clean finish, harmonious balance, and overall comprehensive flavor," which remarkably aligned with Huang Tingjian's evaluation over nine centuries earlier. Ultimately, Wuliangye stood out among various baijiu varieties and was awarded the "National Famous Liquor" title by the Ministry of Light Industry. Together with Gujing Gong Jiu, Luzhou Laojiao Tequ, Quanxing Daqu, Moutai, Xifeng Wine, Fen Wine, and Dong Wine, it was recognized as one of the "Eight Old Famous Liquors" and subsequently won the gold medal for national premium liquor in three consecutive editions of the National Liquor Evaluation Conference.

In 1978, Hua Luogeng, the renowned mathematician and former director of the Institute of Mathematics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, guided the Company to apply optimization methods and overall planning in experiments. After successfully developing low-alcohol Wuliangye, he was delighted and wrote a poem in commemoration: "Famous liquor Wuliangye, optimized for purer taste; Saves five hundred dan of grain, production increased by fifty percent. Bold drinkers like Li Bai, refined sippers like Tao Yuanming; I deeply regret being born too early, only to enjoy the aged spring."

In 1972, Fan Yuping, the pioneer and founder of liquor blending and the chief engineer of Wuliangye Distillery, developed the unique "Fan-style blending technique" based on wine-to-wine blending, emphasizing "buffering, accentuation, and balance," which received high recognition from the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Light Industry and was widely adopted across the industry. In 1989, the Company collaborated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences to develop a computer-aided blending expert system, seamlessly integrating computer data with human sensory evaluation, significantly enhancing blending efficiency and product quality. This achievement won the second prize for major scientific and technological achievements from the Ministry of Commerce and was acclaimed as a "dual masterpiece of blending."

Over several decades starting from the 1960s, through five major expansions, Wuliangye formed the grand "Ten-Mile Liquor City." In 1995, enterprises such as Wuliangye, Changhong, and FAW were jointly conferred the titles "China's Liquor King," "China's TV King," and "China's Automobile King" respectively by the National Bureau of Statistics, the Chinese Organizing Committee of the 50th International Statistical Conference, and the China Technical Progress Evaluation Center, based on their total sales and total profits ranking first in their respective industries nationally. In 1998, Wuliangye Distillery was restructured into Wuliangye Group Corporation and Wuliangye Yibin Co., Ltd. That same year, the joint-stock company was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. In 2020, the joint-stock company was designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, and other seven ministries as a leading enterprise in national agricultural industrialization. Currently, the Group has two A-share listed companies (000858 Wuliangye and 600793 Yibin Paper), and the joint-stock company has a production capacity of 100,000 tons of pure grain solid-state base liquor annually and 1 million tons of base liquor storage capacity. Among them, the largest baijiu production workshop has an annual capacity of 40,000 tons. The industrial park planning area covers 18 square kilometers and has been rated a national AAAA tourist attraction.

Production techniques. The Company always upholds the honor of "China Time-honored Brand." In the production process of Wuliangye liquor, guided by systems engineering and Chinese Five Phases philosophy, it adheres to traditional craftsmanship principles of "imitation of nature, continuity between ancient and present, inheritance and development, and ingenuity and workmanship." The Company adheres to the ancient precept of "top-quality materials, proper timing, meticulous work, and precise methods," and upholds the modern production philosophy of "high quality, high yield, low consumption, balance, and safety." It has distilled the five-character formula of "planting, brewing, selecting, aging, and blending" for fine liquor, creating synergistic effects within the liquor body and beneficial external effects.

"Planting." "Grains are the foundation of liquor." Good liquor is brewed but, more importantly, "planted." Grain cultivation is a crucial step in brewing high-quality liquor—Wuliangye is located in the golden brewing belt at 30° north latitude. It selects five grains for brewing: sorghum imparts a pure aroma and taste, rice yields a mellow and sweet flavor, glutinous rice provides a pure sweetness, wheat contributes a lingering music-like aroma, and corn gives a fragrant and sweet finish, culminating in a harmonious and balanced taste. To ensure the quality of raw grain, Wuliangye has upgraded and established over one million mu of dedicated grain bases across China, with Yibin as the core and Sichuan as the main body, while also covering some premium production areas. Through standardized, precise, and intelligent scientific management of breeding, planting, harvesting, storage, transportation, and delivery, the quality of brewing grains is fully improved, achieving 100% traceability from "a seed to a drop of liquor," continuously producing high-quality liquor to meet consumers' pursuit of a better life.

"Brewing." "A thousand-year-old cellar and ten-thousand-year-old grains; good liquor requires an old cellar." As an irreplaceable core resource of strong-flavor baijiu, the Company possesses a large number of continuously fermented cellar groups. Starting in 1368 (the first year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty), the ancient Wuliangye cellar groups have been continuously producing to this day, with an uninterrupted history of 654 years. They are designated as a national key cultural relic protection unit. The Wuliangye cellar groups and brewing workshops are included in the "National Industrial Heritage" and have been listed in the tentative list for China's World Cultural Heritage. The cellar mud from Wuliangye's pit-style fermentation cellars has been permanently collected by the National Museum of China, being the only "living cultural relic" in its collection. The ancient cellar mud contains abundant functional microorganisms. Through long-term continuous iteration and evolution via "nurturing cellars with grains and nurturing grains with cellars," it endows Wuliangye with its classic, elegant, and aromatic ancient cellar strong flavor.

From grain selection and mixing, milling and making starter, brewing and fermentation, to opening cellars and collecting liquor, the brewing cycle of Wuliangye liquor is long, the operational requirements are meticulous, the control difficulty is high, and production costs are elevated. Especially during the fermentation stage, it requires several extremely complex processes such as "cellar-to-cellar circulation," "continuous grain fermentation," "boiling point water application," "layered cellar opening," and "simultaneous steaming and cooking," each demanding great expertise.