Nestled in Renhuai, Guizhou, the small mountain town of Maotai—spanning less than 200 square kilometers—produces nearly 60% of China’s sauce-flavored baijiu and consistently tops the list of western China’s most prosperous towns. Its legacy is intertwined with Kweichow Moutai (600519.SH), the liquor giant with a market cap exceeding 1 trillion yuan, which anchors the sauce-liquor industry’s supply chain.
Yet the town’s fortunes rise and fall with the liquor cycle. Recent market corrections and cooling demand for premium sauce-liquor have sent ripples through Maotai Town—from distributors and retailers to restaurant owners and taxi drivers. “The industry’s slowdown is palpable,” one local merchant told Times Finance.
But Maotai, no stranger to volatility, remains resilient. At 3 a.m., brewery lights still flicker to life, and trucks shuttle tirelessly along the Chishui River, mirroring the town’s unyielding rhythm. “It’s about endurance now—survival of the fittest,” quipped a winery worker, echoing the local adage: The last one standing takes the crown.
As the sector recalibrates, Maotai’s stakeholders await the next upswing, betting on the enduring allure of China’s iconic liquor.
Related topics：
