Located in the north of Jiangsu Province, Suqian has the canal running through the city. To the north, there is Luoma Lake, while in the south, it is adjacent to Hongze Lake. Back to 2000 years ago, Xiang Yu, the King of Chu, was born here. The “brave and fearless” spirit represented by Xiang Yu also reflects the character of Suqian City. Because of its unique geographical location, it has not only the typical beautiful views of mountains and rivers, which are often seen in southern China, for example, the Seven-color “Natian”, “Fishing Boat in the Sunset” of Luoma Lake, Hongze Lake Wetland Bird-watching, etc.; but also the “magnificent” landscape, which is mostly expected in northern cities, for example, the Previous Residence of King of Chu (Xiang Yu), which can unveil the charm of Chu and Han in Chinese history, and Yanghe and Shuanggou Wine Culture Tourist Site, etc.
As one of the four major wine-producing cities in China, Suqian has enjoyed great reputation for its wine back in Tang Dynasty. In Chinese people’s eyes, “heroes” are always associated with “wine”. A great part of the heroic charm and attitude lies in wine drinking. In Suqian, we have the great hero “Xiang Yu” and the “good wine”. Here, we can explore more about the wine culture in Suqian.
Yanghe New Zone and Shuanggou Ancient Town are the two wine-producing regions in Suqian. In these two places, there are respectively Yanghe Winery and Shuanggou Winery, which both started winemaking thousands of years ago. Now, the winemaking in Yanghe and Shuanggou has become the pillar industry in Suqian and the wine produced are sold throughout China. The Baijiu (Chinese Liquor) “Mengzhilan-Dream Blue” produced by Yanghe Winery enjoys the same reputation with “Maotai”, thus becoming one of the first choices for banquet wine in China.
The moment when you walk into these two wine-making regions in Suqian, the light breeze immediately brings you the aroma of wine. If you are not good at drinking, you may get drunk even because of breathing the air here. Soaked in the air full of wine aroma, local people are extremely good at drinking, even a woman may surprise you for her drinking capacity. Therefore, if you do business with Suqian people and have to have local dinners with them, you need to get prepared that “you will be the only drunk one while all others are sober”.
But, getting drunk can also bring happy feelings, because in Suqian, you’re having the reputable and good wine. Back in Qing Dynasty of China (1636-1912), Kangxi Emperor travelled south along the canal and was attracted by the good wine in Suqian, thus he built a temporary dwelling palace here (imperial palace for emperor’s short stays). Cao Xueqin, the renowned Chinese writer of “The Dream of Red Mansions”, one of the Four Great Classic Novels in China, once got drunk in Suqian for three days in a row but felt not enough, so he loaded the boat full with the good wine of Suqian before returning home.
Yanghe and Shuanggou of Suqian are the “paradise” of people who drink a lot. Even if you don’t drink too much wine, you can also have fun here. The tourist site we recommend is Yanghe Winery. With only 30RMB for the ticket, you can visit the garden-like wine-making plant. Inside it, you can get to know the history of Baijiu (Chinese liquor) in the Wine Culture Museum, pay a visit to the underground cellars with century-old wine, and experience the winemaking process, etc. At last, at the exit of the plant, you will get a mini bottle of Yanghe Wine, which is given to you for free as gift. Do come and taste the reputable wine of China here!
The King of Chu, Xiang Yu, loved drinking wine of his hometown Suqian back in two thousand years ago. Yanghe and Shuanggou in Suqian are exactly the two origins of such good wine. A sip of the vintage wine will bring the “brave and fearless” spirit, just like Xiang Yu had in his heroic and glorious days, to you.
