Yuan Hui runs a namesake winery and a wine-themed cultural resort, which is scheduled to open soon.

But he said he has never been to and refuses to go to another chateau outside of the country.

"I don't need to go anywhere. I run it the way I want it to be," the 47 year-old said.

The way he pictured his own chateau is indeed different from what people expect. It is distinctly Chinese.

In the display room, there is a paragraph about wine inscribed on bottles from the Records of the Grand Historian, a master work by Sima Qian in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24). The text spans the period from the time of the Yellow Emperor in 2,600 BC until his own time.

According to the text, the practice of winemaking had already made its way into China by then and the drink was well liked.

"My hope is that my countrymen will come to understand that wine is not Western. We enjoy it all the time," Yuan said.

He has also put together poems on wine in the room.

"Whether or not you're Chinese, you will understand the joy and inspiration drinking brings to you. It's universal," he said.

Yuan said he did not always have this perspective. The native of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region originally made his fortune in sand-mining and from a farming company.

"I tried to plant pears, apricots and other fruits on the land, but none of them made any profit."

He then stumbled on grapes and found his homeland to be ideal for the vines.

"The soil has rocks in it so water filters down fast. It's dry here. The sun is good for the grapes. The conditions don't fit any other fruits other than winemaking vines."

"I had luck here," he said.

He started work on the chateau in 2007. Since then, he has hired Patrick Soye, a French grape grower, to help him manage 666.67 hectares of grapes.

"The quality of the grapes accounts for nearly 100 percent of the quality of the wine," Soye said.

"Here, the Ningxia region is ideal and has its own distinct flavor."

Soye said the Ningxia wines are more balanced, mellow and rich in flavor.

"They are different from the rest of the world. They go best with Chinese cuisine, too," he said.

Yuan is focusing on these distinctive Chinese features to market his wine to domestic customers.

Now that Ningxia is becoming more famous in the industry, he is expanding his stretch of land to build tasting sections, a culture center, meeting rooms and hotel rooms.

"If the people downtown come to stay, they can relax, taste and experience the wine," he said.

Yuan said his place at the foot of east Helan Mountains already costs him 600 million yuan ($98.02 million). But he said he is confident that the region has potential to develop in the next hundred years, and that investment is worthwhile.

sunye@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 09/23/2013 page9)