Secrets of the manufacturing world – Tours of wine, cashmere and juice factories

By Zhang Dongya

Beijing’s last International Cultural & Creative Industry Expo (ICCIE), held in November, promoted industrial tours suitabe for the bitter cold winter, when sightseeing is better done indoors.

This week we introduce three tours, with more to come in the next issues. Visitors will enter the little-known world of manufacturing – one that plays an indispensable part of everyday life and is key to the country’s economic success.

Local winemaker Longhui produces French-tasting red and white wines. Photos provided by Dragon Seal Wine Company

Beijing wine culture

Longhui, or Dragon Seal, is a winemaker established when the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) was coming to an end, during the reign of its last emperor Puyi (1908-1912). The brand prides itself on its French-tasting red and white wines.

In 2006, the company built a wine museum in its factory on Yuquan Road, Haidian District ?the only museum in town that documents Beijing’s hundred-year-old history of winemaking.

Visitor can learn the best methods to store wine on a stop at Longhui's cellar.

The museum, done in Qing architecture, has two floors: one above and one below ground. On the ground floor is the exhibition hall, which presents the birth and development of Beijing wine. Displays include handmade, semi-automatic and automatic winemaking tools – innovations during their time.

A few meters away is the “production area,” which features display of special Longhui wines and bottles from other popular domestic brands, such as Chuangyu and Great Wall. It also has a bar where visitors can take a sip of different wines and a souvenir machine that can put their thumbprint on a chosen wine label. Tourists get a discount on wine purchases.

The basement contains the cellar and wine vats. Museums guides explain the best methods to store wine.

People interested in wine production can visit Longhui’s production line, which has a glass-covered passage for tourists.

The museum prefers group tours since it has a shortage of guides. But you will learn a lot if you get one: besides introducing the museum, they also share general wine knowledge, such as its different categories and proper wine tasting.

Longhui built a museum in 2006, which documents Beijing's hundred-year-old history of winemaking.

The museum has an exhibition hall with winemaking tools on display.

Dragon Seal Wine Company
Where: 2 Yuquan Lu,
Haidian District
Getting there: Take Subway Line 1 to Yuquanlu station, then transfer to Bus 530 or Special Bus 10 to Fuyulukou Bei stop
Open: Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 5:30 pm; weekends 9 am – 4 pm
Admission: 30 yuan
Tel: 8863 5695