Xifeng Liquor Lands in New York Times Square on the Mid-Autumn Festival

XI'AN, China, Sept. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A bright moon is rising above the sea; we share the same moment although we are far away from each other! On the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, Xifeng Liquor, which has been continuously produced for more than 3,000 years, will release advertising at New York Times Square to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together with the Chinese worldwide. After Wuliangye, this is the second famous Chinese liquor to promote Chinese traditional culture at Times Square, marking that the Chinese liquor industry has begun entering the global marketing era.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130919/CN81093 )

New York Times Square is known as the "Crossroads of the World," where the average annual flow of tourists reaches 40 million people and the average annual flow of passengers reaches 100 million people. It is called one of the best windows to attract global attention. Delivering ads here has is also seen as a symbol to penetrate the global consumer market. In January 2011, China's National Image Film was played on the big screen at New York Times Square, debuting "Chinese red" stunningly and attracting attention from the worldwide media.

Elements of traditional Chinese culture contained in the advertising launched by Xifeng Liquor are very eye-catching. The whole screen of the advertising mainly uses the red and yellow colors of the Chinese national flag as its base colors and the Chinese colors have a powerful expressive force. In the left upper corner of the screen, a bright golden moon moves among auspicious clouds, forecasting an auspicious Mid-Autumn Festival. Under a full moon appear two seal characters in Chinese, "Zhong Qiu (Mid-Autumn)," meaning the long history of Xifeng Liquor dating back more than 2,200 years ago to the Qin Dynasty, and "Qin drink," the first generation of Xifeng Liquor. A floating streamer, which symbolizes a long history, indicates the Fengxiang Classic, the sixth generation of Xifeng Liquor, highlighting the strong vitality of Xifeng Liquor, which has had a continuous survival history of more than 3,000 years. Blooming peony flowers in the left bottom corner and above the full moon together constitute a perfect bliss. On the background of the screen, Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Jiuling's poem "Lovesick with the Moon" faintly emerges, of which the most well-known lines: "A bright moon is rising above the sea; we share the same moment although we are far away from each other" are faintly visible. Such a poem complements mutually with the sentence written in traditional Chinese characters - "During the traditional Chinese festival, Xifeng Liquor and global Chinese celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together," which appears in the right upper corner.

"On the one hand, the debut of Fengxiang Classic, the sixth-generation Xifeng Liquor, in New York Times Square this time can enhance the awareness of Xifeng Liquor in overseas markets and expand its influence worldwide; on the other hand, it, as a carrier, can promote traditional Chinese culture and propagate China's beauty," said Shaanxi Xifeng Liquor Group Co., Ltd. General Manager Xu Keqiang.

According to historical records, Xifeng Liquor began to appear in Yin and Shang dynasties (prior to 1,100 BC), grew stronger in the Zhou and Qin dynasties (1,100 BC - 200 BC), flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties (7^th - 12^th centuries) as well as the Ming and Qing dynasties (15^th - 19^th centuries), and is thriving once again after new China was founded in 1949. It now has a history of at least 3,000 years. In the Western Zhou Dynasty (about 1,066 BC - 771 BC), Xifeng Liquor was called "Qin liquor" during the reign of King Wen of Zhou (1,152 BC – 1,056 BC) and "Yong liquor" during the reign of King Wu of Zhou (about 1,130 BC - 1,043 BC). During the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), it was renamed "Liulin liquor," and during the Tang Dynasty (7^th - 9^th centuries), it was called "Xifeng liquor." At the first national liquor show held in Beijing in 1952, four famous liquor brands were selected in the white spirit field: Xifeng Liquor, Maotai, Luzhou Old Cellar, and Fen Liquor. In 1994, because of the unique styles and features, brewing process, and unique geographical environment of Xifeng Liquor, Chinese state-level authorities determined "Fengxiang-type" liquor by using Xifeng Liquor as a reference. Since then, Shaanxi Xifeng Liquor Group Co., Ltd. has become the benchmark of the national standard for "Fengxiang-type" liquor.

Xifeng Liquor is not only a famous liquor brand in China but also one of the world's best distilled spirits. Its earliest exports can be traced back to the Qin and Han dynasties (more than 2,000 years ago). According to historical records, as one of the most famous liquors in the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), Xifeng Liquor was exported abroad as early as in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 23 AD), becoming well-known overseas. Back then, the sales and consumption of Xifeng Liquor were not limited to Yongdi (today's Fengxiang County, the origin place of Xifeng Liquor) and the Central Plains region; along with Chinese soldiers who were off to conquer the western regions, it spread to the western regions and also with merchants and camels walking on the Silk Road. It was taken to Europe and other Asian countries. By the late Qing Dynasty (late 19^th century), even more Xifeng Liquor was exported overseas. At the Nanyang liquor show held in 1867, Xifeng Liquor won the second prize, becoming renowned abroad. At the first large-scale international expo - Nanyang Commodity Expo - held in China in 1910, among more than one million exhibits, Xifeng Liquor was classified as one of the world's famous liquor brands, becoming well-known overseas and throughout the world. In 1915, the Panama Pacific Exposition was held in San Francisco, USA, and Xifeng Liquor participated in the expo on behalf of Chinese liquors, achieving good scores and becoming famous worldwide.

In the recent two years, the development of Xifeng Liquor has entered a fast track. Xifeng Liquor has not only achieved successes one after another in the domestic market but also yielded brilliant results in the international market, becoming the new favorite among consumers in European, American, and African liquor markets. In January 2011, 25 metric tons of Xifeng Liquor produced by Shaanxi Xifeng Liquor Group Co. reached EU standards, successfully entering Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and France. This is another milestone in the internationalization of Chinese liquors after Maotai and Wuliangye spread beyond Chinese borders. At the same time, Xifeng Liquor successfully passed through Canada's various tests and obtained Angolan ports' BV certification, so it successfully entered Canadian and African markets. Full of history, Xifeng Liquor is favored by local consumers.

Shaanxi Xifeng Liquor Group Co. General Manager Xu Keqiang said that the white spirit or distilled spirit is a unique liquor of China, where white spirit culture has a long history and is deeply rooted in the hearts of the Chinese people. If white spirits want to go abroad, white spirit culture should go first. By strengthening the dissemination and experience of Chinese liquor culture, we can make foreign consumers feel and understand the extensiveness and profoundness of Chinese culture, then letting them fuse Chinese white spirit consumption into their lives. This is important to guarantee that the white spirit will ultimately have a firm presence and sustainable development in overseas markets.

The Xifeng liquor debuting at New York Times Square is the result of efforts made by Shaanxi Xifeng Liquor Group Co. over the years. While maintaining the basic Fengxiang-type style of Xifeng Liquor, the company has made bold innovations. In the field of liquor blending, the company has pioneered the study of white spirits with complex flavors. After unremitting efforts, the company has subsequently developed a new generation of Xifeng Liquor series products which have higher quality, better taste, and unique styles that are loved by consumers and integrated with the brewing techniques of the previous five generations of Fengxiang-type white spirits.

Insiders point out that Xifeng Liquor's moves into New York Times Square not only shows the comprehensive strength of Xifeng Liquor, but also displays the self-confidence of Chinese enterprises to go towards the world and also conveys the power of traditional Chinese culture. In this respect, Xifeng Liquor is no longer a type of ancient white spirit alone but a culture and a type of spirit. Every generation of Xifeng people have also become the inheritor, creator, and promoter of Chinese liquor history and culture.

SOURCE Shaanxi Xifeng Group