World Bai-jiu Day is marked every August 9th, a date translating to "bai" and "jiu" in Mandarin which sounds pretty close to baijiu. It's in its sixth year and aims to bring people together to experience one of the great symbols of Chinese culture in liquid form. Our reporter Wei Lynn Tang has more. 

A food pairing session in Beijing not with your typical wine, but with baijiu -- China's grain-based liquor. Four different styles of it, in fact. These shot glasses aren't drunk in the usual "ganbei", or bottoms up, fashion either.

JIM BOYCE Founder, World Baijiu Day "People outside China don't know anything about it. It's kinda like a mystery, and for me if you're somebody who enjoys drinking, having a beer or wine or spirit -- if you've never tried baijiu, it's like if you like noodles but you've never tried spaghetti."

And so Jim, a Canadian living in Beijing, founded World Baijiu Day to promote just that — putting baijiu in a category all on its own. And it seems many expats in China are warming up to the spirit.

THOMAS MINOGUE Senior Vice President, SPRG "My initial experience with baijiu was nothing special but I discovered it's actually quite diverse, a lot of craftsmanship and artistic feeling -- there's a really strong connection to the Chinese culture."

SARAH PEEL Music Teacher "I would like to be able to drink baijiu when I have Chinese food, and have it pair well with that, because it's such an important part of their culture, there are so many amazing flavors and cuisines I know it has to be connected there; so am hoping if I can learn enough, maybe I can know when it would be a good drink to have with food and cuisines that I enjoy."

Partner venues play around with creating innovative drinks. This Sichuan-inspired restaurant and bar features two cocktails: one regular and one newcomer solely for this event.

URI HUANG Bartender, Superfly "There aren't many baijiu cocktails around here. For our regular offering, we use the old Beijing variant of baijiu called 'erguotou', and we mix it with vodka, vanilla syrup and lemon juice. It's soft on the palette and doesn't come on too strong. It's pretty well accepted."

WEI LYNN TANG Beijing "Before I came to China three years ago, I had never tasted Baijiu. I'd heard of it, but never tried it. Even Baijiu fans say it can be an acquired taste. I can say it's definitely grown on me over time, and it's fascinating to see how events like World Baijiu Day really seek to promote the fiery spirit through new ways, through infusions to food like sorbet!"

According to International Wine and Spirit Research, in 2018, more baijiu was consumed in China than the collective amount of whiskey, vodka and rum consumed worldwide. And that's the thing. Despite the billions of bottles produced every year, almost all baijiu is consumed inside China's borders. So what's keeping it from really catching on globally?

JIM BOYCE Founder, World Baijiu Day "I think they really have to wanna do it. I have doubts that they're serious about going overseas, because why would you wanna leave the China market when you're totally dominant? To fight over 1 or 2 percent. So I think a lot of the talk is geared more towards investors, people who buy the stock, and I think what they're really going to focus on is duty free, that's where the real money is going to be."

MA KUN Co-founder, Guanyun Baijiu "Overseas market is not enough (for us), but it has value from culture, broadcasting, communication, and other things."

Whether baijiu cracks international markets remains to be seen. But for those wanting a taste of China and its rich culture, there's no other liquor quite like it. WLT, CGTN, Beijing.