Ningxia's wines making the transition to the top table

The autonomous region's vineyards are seeing growing demand for their products. Zhu Baoxia, Yan Dongjie and Hu Dongmei report from Yinchuan.

Video: Ningxia red wine continues to impress

Dozens of certificates hang in the hallway of the home of He Yangyang, who runs the Ningxia Yangyang International Winery.

The certificates detail awards won at international competitions, such as the Decanter World Wine Awards, the Berlin Wine Trophy, the Belt& Road Wine and Spirit Competition, and the Bettane and Desseauve Wine Awards in France.

"All these certificates come from before 2018. We don't hang any won after that because it's not new for Ningxia wineries anymore, as they just sweep international competitions," He said.

Just a few days ago, a list from the Decanter World Wine Awards in the United Kingdom showed that more than 40 gold medals were awarded to wines produced in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

Ningxia, in Northwest China, has over 200 wineries, more than 60 of which have won at least 1,000 awards in a wide range of competitions across the globe.

In the past 20 years, Ningxia has vigorously developed its grape and wine industry. The region now has nearly 40,000 hectares of wine grapes under cultivation and 228 wineries and vineyards. Annual production is 138 million bottles.

The wines are exported to more than 40 countries and regions, generating an annual income of more than 34 billion yuan ($4.76 billion).

"Ten years ago, if we wanted to have wine, we would go to international supermarkets in Shanghai to find French or Chilean imports. Now, when I return to the UK from trips to China, my friends ask me to bring Ningxia wine for them," said wine enthusiast Fan Yue, who works in the UK finance industry.

Earlier this month, he flew back to Yinchuan, Ningxia's capital and his hometown, to attend the 2023 International Conference on Grape and Wine Industries.

The event was China's first-ever international wine industry conference. More than 1,000 representatives of companies and growers from wine-producing regions gathered in Yinchuan to share wine, wine culture and technology, and also learn about the development, innovation and growth of the industry in China.

As such, Ningxia's wineries have been busy receiving visitors and signing contracts with businesses from around the world, with orders totaling over 5 billion yuan and investment deals exceeding 30 billion yuan signed during the conference.