The magic happens in winter, how Shaoxing Rice Wine is made

Rice wine is a pillar industry in Shaoxing, where 74 rice wine companies and more than 11,000 workers produce more than 600,000 tons of rice wine every year. It is exported to more than 40 countries and regions, and the brewing technique was listed as one of the national intangible cultural heritages in 2006.

With the arrival of "Start of Winter" on Nov 7, a solar term on the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, the brewing of rice wine in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, began.

Rice wine is brewed at a rice wine factory in Shaoxing, East China's Zhejiang province, Nov 7, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Workers stir the ingredients in the wine jars at a rice wine factory in Shaoxing, East China's Zhejiang province, Nov 7, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

A worker samples the wine at a rice wine factory in Shaoxing, East China's Zhejiang province, Nov 7, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

A worker delivers wine jars at a rice wine factory in Shaoxing, East China's Zhejiang province, Nov 7, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

A worker fixes a wine jar at a rice wine factory in Shaoxing, East China's Zhejiang province, Nov 7, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

A worker delivers wine jars at a rice wine factory in Shaoxing, East China's Zhejiang province, Nov 7, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Workers work at a rice wine factory in Shaoxing, East China's Zhejiang province, Nov 7, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]