This undated photo shows tourists visiting Yuanshi Vineyard, a winery located in the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. — Xinhua photo YINCHUAN (Aug 12): Yuanshi Vineyard, a winery located in the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, has become a tourism hotspot this summer, attracting visitors worldwide to sip wine and snap photos. Among them is Luo Yali, a tourist from east China’s Zhejiang Province.
“I have always loved red wine, but this is the first time I have experienced a winery tour in China. The environment of the winery is particularly beautiful, like a garden,” said Luo. Yuanshi Vineyard is bustling today, but in the late 1990s, it was the site of many sand quarries.
One of the former mine pits is preserved in the winery, standing in contrast to the surrounding lush landscape. Li Haohua, a 53-year-old employee of the winery, located in Haoyuan Village, has witnessed the changes over the years. Once a farmer in the adjacent Gansu Province, he arrived in Ningxia in 1999 looking for job opportunities.
In the beginning, he worked as a lorry driver transporting grit from the mine pits to construction sites. In 2000, the Haoyuan Village was established on the Gobi Desert, and almost all the villagers were migrant workers like Li. “Back then, I didn’t like this place.
The wind blew stones around and the sand stung my face. I had to walk backwards to avoi.