Yuncao Liquor

Yuncao Liquor

Yuncao Liquor is a protected geographical indication product.

　　Yuncao, anciently known as Liaohuazhou, was once the leading town of Hanshan County in Anhui Province. With a history of over a thousand years since its establishment in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it flourished during the Ming and Qing dynasties. At its peak, Yuncao boasted 48 sluice gates, 72 lanes, and a population of around 10,000. The town was home to hundreds of businesses, including shops, brokers' offices, workshops, stores, banks, pawnshops, and teahouses, with storefronts lined up one after another, densely packed. Merchant ships came and went on the Cao River like shuttles, with boats moored along both banks stretching for miles. The streets were bustling with merchants and traffic, presenting a thriving commercial scene. It was one of the eight major commercial towns north of the Yangtze River in ancient times in our province.

　　The Cao River, meandering for dozens of kilometers, connects Chaohu Lake and reaches the Yangtze River, serving as a golden waterway for north-south transportation. The ancient town of Yuncao is like a dazzling pearl inlaid on the Cao River, becoming a transportation hub connecting the Yangtze River and Chaohu Lake, as well as a transit point for commercial transport, influencing the surrounding area within dozens of miles. Thus, the ancient town of Yuncao naturally became a veritable hub for commerce and trade.

　　Although wine production in the Yuncao area dates back to the late Neolithic period, it truly began to develop on a large scale during the Three Kingdoms period in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. After the Battle of Red Cliffs, although the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu were in a balanced power struggle, Cao Cao was not content with dominating the north and still harbored the ambition to annex the wealthy south and eventually unify the country. From 208 to 216 AD, the Wei and Wu states repeatedly clashed along the shores of Chaohu Lake, resulting in a prolonged stalemate. During these eight years, the brewing technique of Jiuyunchun wine from the north was brought to the Dongguan region by Cao’s army and spread to the civilian population through large-scale military brewing activities. After the withdrawal of Cao’s army, the local people of Yuncao inherited and further developed this brewing technique, passing it down through generations.

　　During the Qing Dynasty, Yuncao was located in a major rice-producing area. Due to its proximity to Wuhu and connected waterways, it naturally became an important distribution hub for the Wuhu rice market north of the river. Shrewd Huizhou merchants spotted this commercial gem and flocked to Yuncao to do business, which led to unprecedented prosperity in the local liquor industry. The town had more than ten distilleries of various sizes, such as Hongyitai Distillery, Qian Liben Distillery, Longji Distillery, Wang Family Distillery, and Jiang Family Distillery. Among them, the Huizhou-owned Hongyitai Distillery was the most representative. Its two products, "Barley Liquor" and "Five-Additive Skin Liquor," gained widespread fame along the Yuxi River and were deeply loved by the public. "Barley Liquor" was made from high-quality barley and distiller's yeast; "Five-Additive Skin Liquor" was produced by using aged white liquor as the base and adding the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Wujiapi, offering effects such as dispelling wind, relieving pain, strengthening tendons, and bones—making it especially popular among boatmen engaged in water transport.

　　Anhui Yunjiu Group Co., Ltd. was established in the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and is located in Yuncao Town, Hanshan County, a thousand-year-old town on the renowned Jianghuai Liquor Belt in China. Covering an area of 200,000 square meters, it boasts modern liquor production lines, laboratories, and testing facilities. With an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons of liquor and storage and processing equipment for 10,000 tons of bulk liquor, it is the largest liquor manufacturer in central Anhui and along the Yangtze River.