Xinghuacun Fenjiu Group, a renowned white liquor producer from Shanxi, recently joined hands with the embassy of New Zealand in China to host a televised exchange event in Beijing that aimed to promote exchanges in the food and beverage industries in both countries. It also aimed to make the unique products and culture of the famed Shanxi distillery brand known to New Zealand's people.

That show was a combination of New Zealand's farming industry and its Maori culture with Xinghuacun Fenjiu's white liquor — or baijiu — culture.

During the show, people from New Zealand performed songs and dances with Maori ethnic characteristics. Clare Fearnley, New Zealand's ambassador to China, also sang a Maori song on-site together with other diplomats at the embassy.

New Zealand is a country known for its animal farming industry, making the grilled lamb chops a highlight at the show.

Adding to the pleasant flavor of the dish was the Fenjiu liquor used to souse the lamb before it was put on the grill.

Reggie Li, the executive chef at the embassy, said Fenjiu liquor helps to remove the gamy odor of lamb while making it taste better.

After the grilled lamb chops were done, the chef again poured some liquor on the dish, giving it a unique flavor.

According to an executive from Xinghuacun Fenjiu, the Fenjiu liquor has a long association with lamb. It was called "lamb liquor" in the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties as the lamb mince was used an additive in the liquor-making process.

The executive said the use of Fenjiu liquor is a favored match with authentic New Zealand food because the brand is innovating to adapt to the taste of international consumers.

Over the past decades, the brand has become a representative in globalization in China's liquor industry, bringing new varieties to suit the international markets.

Xinghuacun Fenjiu began attracting the attention of international buyers in 1915 after it won first prize at the Panama Pacific International Expo, which was held in San Francisco. It began large-scale overseas sales in the years to follow.

To date, Xinghuacun Fenjiu's products have been sold to more than 60 countries and regions, through its 50-plus overseas dealers across more than 9,000 outlets that include 180 duty-free stores.

By Yuan Shenggao
Zhao Qingyuan contributed to this story.