A journalist is taking photos during a media delegation visit to Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, on Sept 5. [Photo/shaoxing.gov.cn]

The city of Shaoxing in Zhejiang province was one of 12 off-site interview destinations organized by the G20 Summit’s media center for foreign and domestic journalists.

With G20 meetings all but drawn to a close, the city welcomed approximately 30 journalists on Sept5 to explore its culture of manufacturing yellow rice wine.

The first destination for the media delegation was the old town of Dongpu, home to various water ways and one of the historic origins of yellow wine from the region.

At an exhibition hall in the town, the group learned of the history behind its old houses, famous bridges, wine culture and celebrities.

After sampling the wine, China Daily journalist Guo Kai said that she found it to be a little spicy. "Drinking it makes my stomach warm and my mouth is left with a piece of sweetness," Guo said.

Shaoxing yellow wine represents the most typical and world-renowned Chinese yellow wine culture, said a visiting journalist from Xinhua News Agency.

Li Ping, a journalist from Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, was born and grew up in Dongpu. She notices great changes in her hometown every time she returns, including more supermarkets and more private cars.

Despite being settled in the US, Tu Xinshi, president of the Chinese American Post considers his ancestral home to be Shaoxing. He said he had been looking forward to touring the city for a long time. He added that Shaoxing yellow wine enjoys a high reputation abroad and that he would promote it alongside Shaoxing culture.

While in the town, guests enjoyed a ride on traditional Wupeng boats, crisscrossing its many waterways.

They later visited the China Yellow Rice Wine Museum, where they got a detailed insight into the history of Shaoxing yellow wine and the techniques used by ancient civilizations that led to its development. Journalists tasted the rice wine and watched workers carefully pack the wine and carveits containers. They were also treated to yellow wine ice creams.

Aside from ending up a little tiplsy from sampling the wine, guests were drunk on Shaoxing culture. The trip concluded as Fu Jianwei, chairman of Shaoxing Yellow Wine Group and the main editor of a book about yellow wine culture, sent signed books to the visitors.

Liu Lin, a journalist from Economy & Nation Weekly, was so smitten by the taste of the wine that she decided to stock up and return home by high-speed train, since she wouldn’t be able take as much travelling by plane.