The 12th Sealing Ceremony of Yanghe is held in Suqian, East China's Jiangsu Province on April 20, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Yanghe

On April 20, 2025, the 12th Sealing Ceremony of Yanghe was held in Suqian, East China's Jiangsu Province. By reading a unique and time-transcending book - Yanghe's "True" Words, the spirit of Yanghe, which is "true vintage, true craftsmanship, true softness, and inviting guests from all over the world with a handicraft class," is innovatively interpreted. It also showcases to the world the inheritance of Yanghe's craftsmanship and the new charm of Chinese Baijiu (white spirit) culture in the contemporary era. Industry experts and cultural scholars from home and abroad gathered to participate in this grand event.

The grand ceremony was live-streamed on multiple platforms, with a total of over 121 million online views. Hundreds of millions of online and offline consumers witnessed the in-depth dialogue between traditional culture and modern civilization.

The taste of time

Suqian, one of the world's top 10 spirit production areas and one of the three famous wetland wine production areas, has been awarded the title of "China's Capital of Baijiu." The Grain Rain (a solar term) season is also the most beautiful season in Suqian.

With the gentle spring breeze of the Grain Rain, the grand ceremony of Yanghe was held, just like flipping through a thick book of Baijiu-making history. 

Zhang Liandong, the Party Secretary and Chairman of Yanghe, published the "Publisher's Preface": Yanghe has always refined its faith with time, written the future with quality, and told the story of Chinese Baijiu with every drop.

Have a conversation and make friends with time. Yanghe's Baijiu brewing heritage dates back to the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220), ­flourishing in the Sui and Tang ­dynasties (581-907), and reaching its peak in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). It has a Baijiu-making history of over 1,300 years. All along, the people of Yanghe have always held a firm belief that "fragrance belongs to Baijiu, taste belongs to people." In 2008, "soft and mellow type" was included in the national standard.

What has been accumulated over the years is not only the inheritance of Baijiu skills, but also the passion of countless Baijiu artisans. This wisdom has enabled the mellow aroma of ­Chinese Baijiu to transcend 1,000 years.

The 12th Sealing Ceremony of Yanghe is held in Suqian, East China's Jiangsu Province on April 20, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Yanghe

The story of quality

When you open Yanghe "True" Words, every page tells a story of quality, which is artistically presented on the stage of the ceremony.

The performance begins with the mythological stage film Year·Trace, where "Zhulong" converses with the Baijiu makers of Yanghe across time and space. The line that "Humans fear time, but time fears faith" demonstrates that the people of Yanghe have elevated their Baijiu-making skills to a faith.

Return to Simplicity serves as a value-themed film for the products of the handicraft class, focusing on three intangible cultural heritage inheritors: Ling Yun, a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor of Emei martial arts, Yin Liping, a master of lacquer art, and Zhou Xinhu, the chief engineer of Yanghe.

Gifts of Time tells three ordinary yet extraordinary stories of the people of Yanghe through three old photos. Life Code of a Bottle of Baijiu presents the quality genes of the handicraft class in a youthful form. The theme song of the handicraft class, "The Past of the Handicraft Class," with its simple narrative and music, restores the brewing process of "true craftsmanship" in Yanghe and the persistence of Yanghe Baijiu makers, as well as their dedication to quality. In The Eve of the Championship, the "Dream Team" of Yanghe Technology spares no effort in becoming the irreplaceable bottle in the minds of consumers.

In the closing chapter "Leopard Transformation," renowned recitation artist Xu Tao, with his rich and mellow voice, opens up the 5,000-year-old Chinese civilization and reveals the cultural charm of Yanghe: the people of Yanghe, with "three truths," give birth to "three truths" - true age, true craftsmanship and true softness, giving rise to "true faith, true skills and true value."

With a million ton Baijiu storage base, Yanghe raises the lifeline of quality. 

With a "Dream Team" of Technology, Yanghe builds a moat of quality. With an ultra-long fermentation cycle of 180 days, Yanghe resists the temptation of industrial quick success. And with 137 procedures, Yanghe inherits ancient methods to endow every drop with warmth. Yanghe always holds a belief that "truth gives birth to all things, and then, life continues without end."

The 12th Sealing Ceremony of Yanghe is held in Suqian, East China's Jiangsu Province on April 20, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Yanghe

Entertaining global guests 

At the crucial moment of the spring brewing opening in 2025, guests jointly participated in key procedures and held a grand sealing ceremony.

"Sealing up is not the end but the second fermentation of civilization." In Yanghe "True" Words, there are three dimensions of the book: Book of Time, Book of Quality, and Book of the Future. 

"Book of Time" has announced a comprehensive upgrade of the "True age of Baijiu Strategy." "Book of Quality"redefines the value of high-end Baijiu with "true age, true craftsmanship and true softness." And "Book of the Future" proposes "creating certainty with the warmth of people." Time, consumers and the people of Yanghe jointly write the future chapter of Chinese Baijiu.

"The development history of Yanghe perfectly demonstrates professionalism, dedication and commitment. People in Yanghe advocate authenticity when making Baijiu. The techniques of Yanghe and the inheritance of Yanghe are a role model of the inheritance of Chinese craftsmanship," Zhao Pu, founder of the China Craftsmen Conference, said.

When the most authentic cultural inheritance meets a distinctive presentation, this is the charm of the 12th Sealing Ceremony of Yanghe. Yanghe has continuously showcased the quality charm of "genuine years" to the world and interpreted the warmth of "Chinese craftsmanship."