The 2025 GWTO Enotourism Conference kicked off in Yantai, East China’s Shandong province, on July 3, and is set to run for four days.

Over 300 guests from the Global Wine Tourism Organization (GWTO), foreign embassies and consulates in China, international wine bodies, municipal and provincial departments, wine regions’ governments, universities, associations, experts, key enterprises, and media gathered to explore innovation in global wine tourism.

Yantai’s prime location offers ideal conditions for high-quality wine, with ample sunshine, gravelly soil, and proximity to the ocean. It is China’s only top-tier wine region that doesn’t require soil burial for winter protection.

Since Yantai Changyu Wine Company’s establishment in 1892, Yantai has been the cradle of China’s wine industry. Now, it’s Asia’s sole International City of Vine and Wine. The city hosts over 200 wine production enterprises and more than 60 wineries, accounting for 40 percent of China’s wine production and 60 percent of sales.

In 2025, its brand value hit 86.23 billion yuan ($12.03 billion), topping China’s wine industry for nine consecutive years. Its wine is now exported to over 80 countries.

Yu Yongxin, chairman of Yantai Municipal Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and director of Yantai Wine Industry Chain, announced plans to build the “China Wine Industry Supporting Center”, unlocking a 50-billion-yuan industrial chain and serving over 250 supporting enterprises. He hopes the conference will boost the “purple economy” as a global cultural tourism link.

Harry Sioharis, a candidate for secretary-general of UN Tourism, commended China’s role in developing wine tourism in a video speech. He highlighted Yantai’s global renown and its potential to drive industrial cooperation.

GWTO President Jose Antonio awarded Yantai the “International Certificate as a Responsible Enotourism Destination”, recognizing its sustainable development achievements.

The Xinhua·China (Yantai) Wine Industry Development Index, developed by the China Economic Information Service, was also launched. This index, which uses Yantai as a benchmark, sets a digital evaluation standard for China’s wine industry.