(Yicai Global) June 25 -- Zunyi, a city in southwestern Guizhou province where a pivotal meeting of the Communist Party of China was held 86 years ago that changed the course of China’s history, is now building a new identity as the world’s capital of the grain-based spirit Baijiu and of spicy chilli peppers.

The Zunyi Conference was held in the depths of winter during the Long March (1934–1935) and was a vital turning point in the history of Communist Party of China. It cemented Mao Zedong’s control over the party and saved the Red Army from defeat.

Nowadays, Zunyi is home to China’s most valuable distiller Kweichow Moutai. There are 2,900 liquor companies in Maotai town, under the jurisdiction of Zunyi, boasting over 4,300 brands. The area produced 300 million liters of the fiery alcohol last year, half of the country’s total.

Zunyi continues to promote the Baijiu industry by supporting the formation of an integrated industrial chain from the farming of grains to packaging, printing, logistics and recycling. Some 32 companies that support the local Baijiu industry were set up last year, signing CNY3.25 billion (USD502.5 million) worth of contracts.

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The red soil of Zunyi has also made it famous for the hot chilli peppers it grows. Xiazi town, under the jurisdiction of Zunyi, is the most important distribution hub of dried chillis in the country and the biggest trading center of fresh chillis in the southwest. Last year, Xiazi sold 510,000 tons worth valued at CNY8.03 billion (USD1.2 billion).

Around 40,470 hectares in the area are planted with chilli plants, He Jiaqin, director of Xinpu New Area’s management committee, told Yicai Global. This produces around 135,000 tons of chillis a year worth CNY434 million (USD67.1 million). Zunyi’s Xinpu New Area continues to encourage poverty-stricken farmers to become chilli farmers so as to expand the area under cultivation.

It is also supporting the development of secondary industries, such as spicy chilli sauce makers. China’s largest chilli fermentation plant is located in Xiazi. It has 358 fermentation pools, which can store 20,000 tons of fresh peppers at a time, said Luo Diyi, general manager at Guizhou Guisanhong Food.

Xinpu New Area has lofty plans for the future. It plans to build a chilli-based food processing park with an output value of CNY10 billion (USD1.5 billion). It wants to be the first center in the country to trade ‘chilli futures’ and it plans to turn Xiazi into a ‘national-level chilli pepper town,' He added. It also aims to double trading volume to 1.1 million tons of dried peppers a year worth over CNY20 billion by 2025.

Editor: Kim Taylor