Ruins of the Xushui Liquor Workshop

Ruins of the Xushui Liquor Workshop

The ruins of the Xushui Liquor Workshop are a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Sichuan Province.

The ruins of the Xushui Liquor Workshop are located in Fudong Street Community, Xuyang Town, Rong County, oriented from northeast to southwest. Originally built in the 15th year of the Shunzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1658), the site covers an area of approximately 1,394 square meters. The workshop structure of the liquor cellar is made of brick and wood, featuring 18 pillars and 17 bays, with a width of 82 meters and a depth of 17 meters. The roof ridge is topped with a shed extension. There are currently 38 existing fermentation pits, each measuring 4.7 meters in length, 3.6 meters in width, and 1.5 meters in depth. The workshop also houses several other items such as distillation pots, cooling pools, and esterification barrels. This liquor workshop employs traditional techniques including continuous fermentation in mud pits with spent grains, mixed steaming and firing, and storage in earthenware jars. The distiller’s yeast is made by grinding wheat and barley in proportion, preferably during the hot summer months. Once formed into blocks, the yeast is sealed and later crushed before use, without adding any other medicinal ingredients. During brewing, grain husks form the base, mixed with ground barley, wheat, sorghum, corn, and rice, which are then fermented in the pits for 60 time units per cycle. A unique set of brewing techniques known as “kicking by foot, feeling by hand, checking the qi when loading the distillation rack, balancing heat with ground temperature, and cooling down to thirteen” has been developed over time. The entire liquor cellar remains relatively intact and holds significant research value for studying the history of liquor production, brewing techniques, and the socio-economic development of Rong County during that period. In March 2008, the launch ceremony for the field investigation phase of the third national cultural relics survey in Zigong City was held at the old fermentation pits of Xushui Liquor.

Protected area: 105 meters beyond the edge of the fermentation pits to the north, 10 meters to the west, 40 meters to the south, and 40 meters to the east.

Construction control zone: an additional 30 meters beyond the protected area.

Fudong Street Community: Fudong Street Community…… More detailed information about Fudong Street Community++

Further reading:

· Eighth Batch of Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units