WuLiangYe Group

The press conference for the Liquor God Festival was held in Huarong Hotel, Yibin at ember 17, attended by around 30 national, provincial, municipal and 4:30 p.m., Dec foreign news agencies, e.g. People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, People’s Central Radio Station, Sichuan Daily, Hong KongDa Gong Paper, Macau Lotus Satellite TV, among others. CPC Yibin Committee Deputy General Secretary & Mayor Wu Guanglei, Deputy Mayor Liu Xiaochen, Deputy Mayor Jing Shigang, Wuliangye Inc. Deputy General Manger Zhu Zhongyu, etc. also attended the press conference and replied to the reporters’ questions also. The press conference was hosted by Lv Xiaoli, CPC Yibin Standing Committee Member, Secretary General and Publicity Department Secretary.

Yibin Government Spokesman and Secretary General Peng Zhengqi announced that the Liquor God Festival, themed by “Yibin, the City on the Yangtze River Famed for Wuliangye” was held in Yibin to make the city known as “the Capital of Liquor” to the public, promote the liquor culture, develop the local liq-uor industry and create an interactive platform for culture and industry.

When a reporter from Ta Kung Pao in Hong Kong asked that whether the Famed Liquor God lived in Yibin since Yibin held this grand ceremony in the name of the Capital of Liquor in China, Mayor Wuguanglei gave a witty reply: “The Liquor God exists in the heart of the Yibin people and everyone in Yibin wor-ships the Liquor God in the bosom of his heart. The Liquor God drinks only holy liquor because only Holy liquor is fit for His holy status. In the eyes of the Y-ibin people, the Liquor God is the heaven and the earth, the grains and cereals, the water and the fire, the sun and the moon, the perfect harmony of wa-er, liquor and human cultural & spiritual achievements; in the eyes of the Wuliangye management and staff, the Liquor God is the Oriental Goddess on the Holy Mountain. Wang Guochun, the famous Wuliangye leader, referred to the word of Liquor God in such a passage in his Song of Praise to the Liquor God: ‘The Liquor God dances a piece in praise of the Five Cereals and follows the advent of flowers and the rising sun; she straddles a mighty lion on the Holy Hill, gathering essence of elements and wandering about throughout China; Wuliangye, the Holy Liquor, is presented to the Chinese People and the prosperous age!’. This verse gives a visual description of the Liquor God. ”

When asked by a reporter from Chinese Liquor Magazine about the current market situation of Wuliangye, Deputy General Manager Zhu Zhongyu exte-nded thanks to well-meaning friends from all walks of life who had been supporting the corporate development on behalf of Wuliangye Board Chairman Wa-ng Guochun and CEO Tang Qiao. Then he made an introduction to Wuliangye’s encouraging and healthy strategic multi-pronged achievements since the Ele-venth Five-year Plan was implemented.

“Now I declare the inauguration of the Yibin Liquor God Festival 2007!” At 8:00 p.m. December 17th, Deputy Governor Huang Xiaoxiang announced the inauguration ceremony of the Yibin Liquor God Festival 2007. CPC Yibin Committee Secretary & Municipal People’s Congress Board Chairman Yang Dongs-heng delivered the inaugural address. Then a grand bonfire evening show themed with “New Spring for Yibin” began, changing the Yangtze Plaza (land-mark architecture in Yibin) into a sea of joy. Government leaders at various levels, giant distributors of Wuliangye products and tens of thousands of Yibin citizens watched the spectacle.

The three rivers flow for thousands of years, but the best liquor only originates from Yibin. Secretary Yang Dongshen said in his address: “For thous-ands of years, Yibin has been the creator of the famous high-quality and aromatic Chinese liquor, Wuliangye on the strength of its natural resources and distinctive brewing technology. For this, Yibin has been famous at home and abroad. We hold this Liquor God Festival in Yibin as a way of passing down the Chinese culture, especially the liquor culture. We hope to exhibit the charm of the three-thousand-year-old liquor culture of Yibin and develop the inner essence of the Chinese liquor culture with an aim of promoting the brand image of the city, making it better known from local to abroad and building a bridge of communication, friendship and mutual understanding between Yibin and other cities and our friends. We plan to take advantage of the Liquor God Fes-ival to facilitate our communication, cooperation and exchange with our friends and customers from all walks of life. Let’s join our old & new customers in holding a multi-lateral and mutually-benefiting festival of economic opportunities, cultural opportunities, co-operations and hand-in-hand development!”

At the eighteenth second of 8:05 a.m. December 18, the Yibin 2007 sacrificial ritual for the Liquor God began on the Liquor God Hill in Wuliangye Inc. Present at the ritual were CPC Yibin Committee Secretary & Yibin People’s Congress Board Chairman Yang Dongsheng, CPC Yibin Committee Deputy Secretary & Mayor Wu Guanglei, Yibin Peo-ple’s Political Consultative Cong-ress Chairman Yin Dehong, CPC Wuliangye Committee Party Secretary & Board Chairman Wa-ng Guochun, CPC Wuliangye Committee Deputy Secretary, Wuliangye Inc. Board Chairman, Board Director, Board Chairman and Gen-eral Manager Chen Lin, etc. Also present on the scene were Wuliangye Distributors. All of them gathered at the foot of the Liquor God Hill, eagerly awaiting the beginning of the grand and imposing sacrificial ritual.

“The Liquor God created Wuliangye to beg for blessings for Guests to Yibin”. On the northern bank of Minjiang River in Yibin, the Chinese Capital of Liq-uor, there stood a steel Oriental goddess at the foot of the Liquor God Hill, which was on the central line of Wuliangye’s Expanse of Workshops. Slihtly na-rrowing her eyes and mounted on a lion, she wore a garland around her neck and the Five Cereals on her breast, her long sleeves flying in the liquor. This was the very Liquor God worshipped on this festival. The word “Liquor” was made up of four liquor jars and the word “God” was fashioned after an anc-ient drinking vessel. The word “Liquor God” had significant and insightful meanings. Inscribed on a boulder on the right of the figure was the text of Song of Praise to the Liquor God by Board Chairman Wang Guochun: “The Liquor God dances a piece in praise of the Five Cereals and follows the advent of flowers and the rising sun; she straddles a mighty lion on the Holy Hill, gathering essence of elements and wandering about throughout China; Wuliangye, the Holy Liquor, is presented to the Chinese People and the prosperous age!” This verse is a good description of the Liquor God. The Liquor God is the heaven and the earth, the grains and cereals, the water and the fire, the sun and the moon, the perfect harmony of water, liquor and human cultural & spiritual achiev-ements; she was the group of the intelligent personalities who had contributed to the technical processes of Wuliangye throughout the history. The cerem-ony was held not for a specific god, but a group of great people. The ceremony was the first of its kind held on the Liquor God Hill in Yibin with the aim of popularizing the Chinese liquor culture and the Wuliangye spirit. It was held also to consolidate the Wuliangye Team, cultivate the taste of the team members and highlight the business ethics of the Wuliangye predecessors.