A Xinghuacun Fenjiu executive (left) shares stories about the company's white liquor with a Chilean diplomat during the Chilean Week. [Photo by Wen Zhaoyan for China Daily]

The South American country of Chile is renowned for its red wine, while China is known throughout the world for its white liquor – or baijiu. The two alcoholic beverage varieties met in Beijing last month during a gourmet gala held at the Chilean embassy in China.

The embassy hosted a cultural exchange event – the Chilean Week – in the middle of last month, and the gala, named the Ambassador's Gourmet Parlor, held on Nov 16 was a part of the event. Xinghuacun Fenjiu, a famed baijiu distillery company from North China's Shanxi province, attended the gala.

Xinghuacun Fenjiu's executives said its participation in the gala was aimed at entering the South American country and the wider continent.

The company's representatives presented a bottle of the Silk Road edition of Fenjiu-branded white liquor to Mauricio Hurtado, the Chilean ambassador to China.

Hurtado said he was impressed with the gift as soon as he saw it, as the bottle was colorfully decorated with Silk Road elements such as silk ribbons, camel caravans and sailing boats, as well as the flying immortals of Dunhuang – a hub of the ancient Silk Road and a city boasting the well-known UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site of the Mogao Grottoes.

"We want to use these unique Silk Road elements to tell the stories of China and about the brand with rich cultural connotations," said an executive from Xinghuacun Fenjiu.

The executive talked about the history and culture of the brand. She said Xinghuacun Fenjiu provides unique products from the township of Xinghuancun in Fenyang, Shanxi province, which might be the original source of China's alcoholic beverages.

She explained that an archaeological discovery in the company's premises in Xinghuacun township in 1983 has offered material evidence for the long history of China's alcoholic beverages, which might date back 6,000 years.

She added that ancient techniques for making Xinghuacun Fenjiu's white liquor were included in China's national list of intangible cultural heritage items in 2006.

The company is also one of the pioneering white liquor companies in China to go global. It is now among the top three exporters in China's white liquor industry.

At the gourmet gala, Fenjiu liquor was served to guests along with red wines from Chile, as well seafood shipped from the country.

Ambassador Hurtado said that Chileans like to combine red wine and sea food for meals. And this time he found Fenjiu liquor and sea food were also a perfect match. He hoped the Fenjiu liquor could reach the dining tables of Chileans someday.

China has been Chile's largest trade partner for more than 10 years – being the largest destination for Chilean exports and the largest source of Chilean imports, the ambassador said, adding that he is optimistic that the bilateral ties can further rise to new heights.

Wu Jia contributed to this story.