Vinegar adds culinary heft to county in Shanxi

People in Shanxi province love mature vinegar so much that they would rather lose their heads than pots full of the traditional Chinese condiment, said Wang Junting, a tour guide from the province.

The locally produced vinegar, which usually takes 12 months to several years to mature, carries a special aroma as it ages and has high levels of acidity, adding a delightful tanginess and depth of flavor to Chinese dumplings. In fact, it is often considered a good choice for the traditional dish during Spring Festival.

Along with Shanxi's mature vinegar, Chinkiang vinegar from Zhejiang province, Baoning vinegar from Sichuan province and Yongchun vinegar from Fujian province, are known as the "Four Famous Chinese Vinegars" worldwide.

"As Spring Festival approaches, our production line, packaging workshop and logistics center are busier than usual. Our employees are working hard to meet the increased demand for the holiday market," said Luo Guodong, deputy general manager of Zilin Vinegar, based in Qingxu county of Taiyuan, Shanxi.

With over 1,000 mu (66.7 hectares) of wetlands and 1,700 mu of lakes, the locally cultivated red sorghum of Qingxu helps nurture the unique, rich and soft texture of its mature vinegar.

The county is one of the key food vinegar production bases in China, with a burgeoning industry led by local enterprises such as Shanxi Shuita Vinegar Co Ltd, Zilin Vinegar, Meijin Vinegar and Donghu Vinegar.

One may, however, find it hard to link Shanxi's vinegar brands with the county of their original birthplace.

This has made the establishment of a cultural connection between mature vinegar and Qingxu a key step in its future industrial upgrade.

At Baoyuan Superior Mature Vinegar Workshop, which is built in ancient architectural style, workers in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) costumes employ wooden barrels, baskets and shovels to show visitors authentic and traditional vinegar-brewing techniques such as hand milling, fermentation and filtration.

As China's first vinegar culture museum, the workshop under Shanxi Shuita Vinegar attracts over 400,000 visitors a year, with annual revenue from ticket sales exceeding 20 million yuan ($2.8 million).

Shanxi Shuita Vinegar has also invested more than 800 million yuan in the establishment of a nearly 400-mu vinegar park in the county, the company said.

Digitalization has also become significant for the time-honored industry's modern upgrade, with an increasing number of high-quality vinegar brands making forays into global markets through livestreaming platforms.

Jointly established by the Qingxu county government, Alibaba Cloud Innovation Center and Meijin Vinegar, a "rural e-town" for Shanxi's mature vinegar officially opened last year, and serves as a comprehensive platform for e-commerce talent training, livestreaming sales and big data service command center, said the county government.

A "rural e-town" refers to a development platform within a specific region, and is based on specialized sector growth, with deep integration of e-commerce at its core and supported by complementary services.

"Leveraging the internet and cutting-edge brewing technologies, we will tailor our vinegar products to the differentiated tastes of various countries and regions. We aim to meet the diverse needs of consumers across the globe and enhance the brand image of Qingxu as China's Vinegar Capital," said Wang Jianyun, chief engineer at Meijin Vinegar.

Qingxu's vinegar products are exported to 36 countries and regions, leading to an annual output value of 6.5 billion yuan and creating nearly 100,000 jobs in 2023, said the county's industry and information bureau.

With 81 vinegar-related enterprises and three nationally renowned trademarks, Qingxu boasts an annual vinegar production capacity of 800,000 metric tons, accounting for about 80 percent of the province's output and 20 percent of the national total, and ranking first in the country for regional vinegar production and sales, according to the bureau.

Qingxu will keep advancing the transformation and upgrade of its traditional sectors and the cultivation of emerging categories in the mature vinegar industry, said Li Fugui, governor of Qingxu, in a previous interview.

Through measures such as restructuring and integrating companies of different sizes, the county will cultivate an industry development cluster to enhance the overall quality and market competitiveness of the local vinegar industry, Li said.