China will launch the first China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo with its opening ceremony to be held online and offline on Sunday in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

The event will feature a variety of activities, including an international wine contest; a wine and lifestyle festival; a wine culture and tourism festival; wine-related exhibitions; forums and a concert.

According to the organizers, more than 80 vineyards and 148 wine-related enterprises will participate in the exhibition. A total of 620 wine brands from 16 countries will compete in the wine contest.

The expo, sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Ningxia regional government, aims to enhance exchanges and cooperation between major wine-producing countries globally and the winemaking regions of China, and promote the development of the industry.

Over the years, Ningxia has burgeoned into a major winemaking region in China and now is home to some 211 wine chateaux – completed or under construction – with an annual output of 130 million bottles of wine.

The National Open Development Comprehensive Pilot Zone for Grape and Wine Industry, the first of its kind in China, was set up in Ningxia with an objective of turning the region into China's Bordeaux, in July. It is the main venue of this year's expo.

With a planned area of more than 500 square kilometers, the pilot zone is located between 37 and 39 degrees north latitude. It is considered to be within the "golden zone" for growing wine grapes. 

It is expected to cultivate 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares) of vineyards in five years, with an estimated output value of 100 billion yuan ($15.4 billion).

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: The National Open Development Comprehensive Pilot Zone for Grape and Wine Industry, the main venue of the first China (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, September 21, 2021. /CFP)