Niu Lan Shan Distillery

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Mr Zhao especially arranged for us to visit the Niu Lan Shan Distillery. The first thing that stimulated the senses when I alighted from the bus was the smell of fermented grains. The Niu Lan Shan Er Guo Tou (牛栏山二锅头) is famed here. The distillery has a long history, which is briefly described in the website, http://www.niulanshan.com.cn/. The original distillery was converted to a visitors' site. Niu Lan Shan appears to be pepper with sites that the Emperor Qianlong visited. In the distillery, there is a pavillion which the emperor allegedly rested during his tours. According to Mr Wan, the distillery contributes greatly to the economic development of the Shunyi district. It appears to be the habit to consume a bottle of "Er Guo Tou" at mealtimes. The impression that you get of the production at the distillery is that is one of labour-intensive-ness. We observed the lines of people performing various specialised tasks, such as labelling the bottles, wrapping the bottles, packing the bottes, etc. The spirits produced at the distillery are of varying concentrations, the most concentrated spirit contains a whooping 75%!a(MISSING)lcohol content!!

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Photos

Fermented grains
I think this must be what is contributing to the smell in the air.

History
The carved stone wall depicts the wine making process in the olden days.

Origin
This is the original well used to supply the water for the wine-making in the early days. The sweetness of the water was said to have contributed much to the particular fragrance of the wine.

Early wine producers
This is one of the stone murals around the gallery depicting the history of wine culture in China. This particular mural depict how wine was discovered through the monkeys. The monkeys were said to collect and stock fruits in the caves. Naturally over time, the fruits ferment, producing perhaps the first known wines.