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34-840: Zunyi is known for being the location of the Zunyi Conference in 1935, where Mao Zedong was first elected to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party during the Long March . The area of Zunyi was originally inhabited by the Tongzi people during the Paleolithic . Later, its territory was a part of several kingdoms. Zunyi was considered to be the center of the Yelang kingdom. The region around Zunyi first came under Chinese rule during Han dynasty , during

68-788: A 12 December 1934 meeting of Party leaders in Tongdao , discontent with Bo Gu and Otto Braun appeared. Under these conditions, the Communists met in Zunyi to reshuffle the Party politburo. In January 1935, after the Red Army took over the city of Zunyi, a town of military importance in Guizhou , Southwest China , an enlarged meeting of the politburo of the CCP was held. For nearly fifty years, it

102-491: A few locations in neighbouring Sichuan receive less sunshine on average. The 1999 Zunyi Prefecture Almanac lists the following ethnic groups. A rapid transit system is in the planning stages for Zunyi. Zunyi is the economic and commercial hub of the North Guizhou Province. In 2019, Zunyi's GDP was CN¥348.3 billion (US$ 53 billion). Being known as the "home of culture" of Guizhou province, Zunyi, or

136-1554: A long history dating back to at least the 1st and 2nd centuries BCE where there is record of Han dynasty Emperor Wu tasting and praising a goqijiu produced in Yelang . However, it wasn't until the Tang and Song dynasties that grain based distilled alcohols began to develop in China as a whole. The origins of Maotai itself, and

170-514: A more mobile war. Mao's supporters gained momentum during the meeting and Zhou Enlai eventually moved to back Mao. Under the principle of democracy for majority, the secretariat of the Central Committee and Central Revolution & Military Committee of CCP were reelected. Bo and Braun were demoted while Zhou maintained his position now sharing military command with Zhu De. Zhang Wentian took Bo's previous position, and Mao once again joined

204-601: A retired master distiller, and resumed the production of maotai in the newly founded "Chengyi" distillery and sixteen years later, in 1879, three Renhuai landlords opened the "Ronghe" distillery. It's with these two distilleries that many of the techniques and profiles of contemporary maotai were finalized. At the beginning of the 20th century, with the fall of the Qing dynasty and the birth of the Republic of China , maotai continued to be in demand with "tribute liquor" being crafted at

238-642: A strategic retreat to regroup with other Communist units, and to avoid annihilation. The original plan was for the First Red Army to link up with the Second Red Army commanded by He Long , thought to be in Hubei to the west and north. Communications between divided groups of the Red Army had been disrupted by the Kuomintang campaign, and during the planning to evacuate Jiangxi, the First Red Army

272-500: Is a style of baijiu made in the town of Maotai , Guizhou Province , China . Maotai is made from sorghum , a wheat based qū , and water from the Chishui River , and it uses traditional Chinese techniques of fermentation, distillation, and aging, to produce a spirit with a nutty, grain forward and savory aroma and flavor. The most famous and best selling brand of maotai is produced by Kweichow Moutai , which has become

306-558: Is in 1704, when in Renhuai Caozhi, a local newspaper, it was written that "Moutai Village in the west of the city ranks first in the whole country for making liquor." In 1854, during the Taiping Rebellion the town of Maotai was destroyed and all of the distilleries reduced to ruins or abandoned completely. Nine years later, in 1863 a salt merchant from a neighboring town bought one of the abandoned distilleries, hired

340-849: Is located in northern Guizhou at an elevation of 865 m (2,838 ft); it is situated in the transition from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau to the Sichuan Basin and hill country of Hunan . Zunyi has a four-season, monsoon -influenced humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa ), slightly modified by elevation. It has fairly mild winters and hot, humid summers; close to 60% of the year's 1,022 mm (40 in) of precipitation occurs from May to August. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 4.7 °C (40.5 °F) in January to 25.4 °C (77.7 °F) in July, while

374-641: Is on the foundation of these three distilleries that Kweichow Moutai was to be built. Maotai's importance in contemporary China has many of its roots in the era of the Chinese Civil War . It was in Zunyi, the prefectural city over the town of Maotai that Mao Zedong became the leader of the Chinese Communist Party at the Zunyi Conference and it was during the Long March that many Chinese troops and many of China's future leaders, including Zhou Enlai would gain an appreciation for maotai. Stories from

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408-683: The Chiefdom of Bozhou in AD 876. The chiefdom became an autonomous prefecture of the Song and subsequent dynasties, while the ruling Yang family held power in Zunyi for more than seven centuries. Bozhou rebelled against the Ming dynasty in 1589, resisting the Ming for more than a decade before its eventual destruction in 1600. Subsequently, Zunyi Prefecture was established, with the present-day city of Zunyi becoming

442-552: The Xiang river , Chiang Kai-shek had reinforced the KMT defenses. In two days of bloody fighting, 30 November to 1 December 1934, the Red Army lost more than 40,000 troops and all of the civilian porters, and there were strongly defended Nationalist defensive lines ahead. Personnel and material losses after the battle of the Xiang river affected the morale of the troops and desertions began. By

476-668: The 1950s and still no detailed descriptions were available until the fiftieth anniversary in 1985. In August 1934, with the Red Army depleted by the prolonged Chinese Civil War , a spy ( Mo Xiong ) placed by Zhou Enlai in the KMT army headquarters in Nanchang brought news that Chiang Kai-shek was preparing a major offensive against the Chinese Soviet Republic 's capital, Ruijin . The Communist leadership decided on

510-465: The Central Committee. The Zunyi Conference confirmed that the CCP should turn away from the 28 Bolsheviks and towards Mao. The Red Army regained its military power, survived in Yan'an and ultimately defeated the KMT using a guerrilla strategy, and later through conventional warfare as it gained mass peasant support. It could be seen as a victory for those old CCP members who had their roots in China and, on

544-483: The Jiangxi region and to look at the options now available to them. Bo Gu was the first to speak with a general report. He acknowledged that the strategy used in Jiangxi had failed without taking any blame. He claimed the lack of success was not due to poor planning. Next, Zhou gave a report on the military situation in an apologetic style. In contrast to Bo, he admitted mistakes had been made. Then, Zhang Wentian condemned

578-607: The Long March, the political bureau of the Red Army issued a notice to the passing soldiers to note the importance of maotai liquor and refrain from interfering in the private distillation of the spirit ongoing except to buy or sell. Shortly after the end of the Chinese Civil War and after the founding of the People's Republic, the three existing maotai distilleries, Chengyi, Ronghe, and Hengxing were merged to create

612-688: The North-Guizhou area, is the education and economic centre of the province. The Zunyi Conference Memorial Museum is located in Honghuagang District , and consists of several sites related to the historical Zunyi Conference . Zunyi is home to the Zunyi Medical College (ZMC), which was formerly the Dalian Medical College founded in 1947. The college was moved from Dalian to Zunyi and renamed to

646-867: The Zunyi Medical College with the approval of the State Council in 1969. Another college-level institution of in the city is the Zunyi Normal College ( 遵义师范学院 ). The rice liquor Maotai is produced in the town of Maotai , known as the "national liquor of China." Zunyi is home to much chili pepper cultivation, and red sorghum is also grown in Zunyi, a key ingredient for baijiu in China. 27°43′19″N 107°01′52″E  /  27.722°N 107.031°E  / 27.722; 107.031 Zunyi Conference The Zunyi Conference ( simplified Chinese : 遵义会议 ; traditional Chinese : 遵義會議 ; pinyin : Zūnyì huìyì )

680-471: The annual mean is 15.8 °C (60.4 °F). Rain is common throughout the year, with 176 days annually precipitation, though it does not actually accumulate to much in winter, the cloudiest time of year; summer, in contrast, is the sunniest. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from around 9% in January and February to 42% in August, the city receives only 1,028 hours of bright sunshine annually; only

714-714: The contrary, was a great loss for those CCP members such as the 28 Bolsheviks who had studied in Moscow and had been trained by the Comintern and the Soviet Union and could be regarded as protégés or agents of Comintern accordingly. After the Zunyi Conference, the influence and involvement of the Comintern in CCP affairs was greatly reduced. Maotai Maotai or Moutai ( simplified Chinese : 茅台 ; traditional Chinese : 茅臺 ; pinyin : máotái )

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748-606: The distilleries that preceded Kweichow Moutai, lie in the Qing dynasty after 1644. Beijing officials of the salt monopoly , were stationed at an outpost in Maotai. They introduced baijiu production methods from their northerly home ( qingxiang ), which were merged with the then in-use methods from neighboring Sichuan ( nongxiang ). The result of this blend of techniques served as the basis for jiangxiang baijiu and more particularly for maotai itself. The earliest explicit record of maotai

782-403: The following participants: Various scholars dispute the attendance of Chen Yun, Liu Shaoqi, Wang Jiaxiang, He Kequan, Deng Fa, Nie Rongzhen, and Deng Xiaoping. On the other hand, Liang Botai , Wu Liangping , Teng Daiyuan , Li Weihan , Wang Shoudao , and Yang Shangkun are also held to have attended by some sources. The main agenda of this conference was to examine the Party's failure in

816-400: The leaders for the debacle in Jiangxi in a long, critical oration, which was supported by Mao and Wang. Mao's comparative distance from power over the past two years had left him blameless of the recent failures and in a strong position to attack the leadership. Mao insisted that Bo Gu and Otto Braun had made fundamental military mistakes by using tactics of pure defense, rather than initiating

850-399: The maotai is effective. Everyone praises it." In a likely apocryphal story, company commander Wang Yuenan, and one of Mao's guards Chen Fengchan, were in returning from a trip to purchase maotai for this very purpose when they ran into Mao himself who told them; "Maotai is a place famous for its wine, but it would be a pity to wipe your feet with this wine!" While in the town of Maotai during

884-491: The modern, state-owned Kweichow Moutai in 1951. Since the foundation of the modern Kweichow Moutai, the spirit has served as part of the standard fare for Chinese diplomatic meetings and dinners. From Mao's gifts of maotai given to Joseph Stalin and Kim Il-Sung in 1950 and 1973 respectively, to Zhou Enlai's use of the spirit as a diplomatic tool for the 1954 Geneva Conference and the welcoming banquet for Richard Nixon 1972 visit to China , maotai has served as one of

918-412: The most valuable spirits brand not just in China but in the world as a whole. However, despite common misconception, Kweichow Moutai is not the only producer of maotai, nor do they own any exclusive right to the name. Maotai must simply be produced in the town of Maotai and follow the production guidelines as laid out in regulation. Alcohol production in Zunyi , on the banks of the Chishui River , has

952-591: The prefectural seat. Zunyi retained its status as a prefectural seat through the Qing dynasty . After the Xinhai Revolution , Zunyi was redesignated as a county in 1914. In 1935, the Zunyi Conference took place in the city, resulting in Mao Zedong becoming the de facto leader of the Chinese Communist Party . During the country's First Five-Year Plan , Zunyi was redesignated as a city, and experienced considerable growth and transformation. Zunyi

986-619: The reign of Emperor Wu of Han . After the Han dynasty collapsed, the area remained under nominal Chinese control, but much of the administration was left to local, non-Han chiefs. In the 7th century CE, the area came under regular Chinese administration during the Tang dynasty , Zunyi was placed under the new Bo Prefecture (Bozhou). Towards the end of the Tang, Bozhou was conquered by the Nanzhao Kingdom. However, it soon gained independence as

1020-416: The request of the short lived Chinese leader Yuan Shikai for the occasion of his coronation as emperor. In that same year, maotai was presented at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition and awarded a medal which spurred a rapid increase in demand for the spirit within China and in response a rapid increase of production capacity for the two distilleries. In 1929 the third distillery "Hengxing" was founded and it

1054-415: The time recount Red Army soldiers and officers enjoying maotai both for consumption and for more practical purposes, primarily the cleaning and disinfection of the soldiers feet. In "Memoirs of the Long March" the author Cheng Fangwu wrote; “Because of the urgent military situation, we dared not drink much liquor. The liquor was mainly used to wipe our feet and relieve fatigue on the road. Wiping feet with

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1088-469: Was a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in January 1935 during the Long March . This meeting involved a power struggle between the leadership of Bo Gu and Otto Braun and the opposition led by Mao Zedong . The result was that Mao left the meeting in position to take over military command and become the leader of the Communist Party. The conference was completely unacknowledged until

1122-769: Was commonly thought to have been held from January 7–9, as related by a senior leader. Fei Peiru, a historian and former museum curator of Zunyi, is credited with establishing the currently accepted dates of January 15–17. The names and numbers of participants in the conference have always been disputed. These details are of importance to the largely Soviet view that elected members of the party were outvoted by non-members. Those who are most strongly agreed to have attended by all are Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Chen Yun , Liu Shaoqi , Zhang Wentian , Bo Gu, Liu Bocheng , Li Fuchun , Lin Biao , and Peng Dehuai . Chinese sources which show that non-members could not have outvoted members have

1156-474: Was unaware that these other Communist forces were also retreating westward. Initially the First Red Army, with its baggage of top communist officials, records, currency reserves and other trapping of the exiled Chinese Soviet Republic, fought through several lightly defended Kuomintang checkpoints, crossing the Xinfeng River and through the province of Guangdong , south of Hunan and into Guangxi . At

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