By Yasmine Maylin
Founded in Yantai in 1892, Changyu For over 130 years, the company has been instrumental in the development of modern viticulture in China. After expanding its vineyards from Shandong to Ningxia and investing in several international properties, the company is now opening a new chapter in its history in Paris. This strategic, yet cultural, location aims to introduce a Chinese wine identity that remains largely unknown in Europe.
At 76 Boulevard Haussmann, nestled between department stores, private mansions, and iconic addresses of the 8th arrondissement, a new geography of wine is beginning to emerge. Since February 2026, Changyu's wines have been showcased at Global Wine & Spirits, a contemporary space dedicated to wines and spirits from around the world.
The Chinese company has installed the Changyu 1892 Art Gallery, also known as Galerie 1892. More than just a retail outlet, this space has been designed as an international center for experiencing Chinese wine culture. Tastings, photographic exhibitions, professional meetings, and educational activities are intended to allow the French public to understand the history of the winery, as well as that of new Chinese terroirs.
This arrival in the capital is not merely a business venture. It marks a new chapter in a remarkable journey between Europe and China. At the end of the 19th century, Changyu imported European grape varieties and techniques to build the country's first modern wine industry. More than a century later, the winery returns to Europe to showcase what China has made of this heritage.
The history of Chinese wine is much older than one might imagine.
Discussing the history of wine in China first requires distinguishing grape wine from the many fermented beverages traditionally grouped under the Chinese term jiuFor millennia, this term has referred to alcohols made from rice, millet and sorghum, as well as fruit-based preparations.
At the Neolithic site of Jiahu in the Yellow River Valley, researchers have identified traces of a fermented beverage produced between 7000 and 6600 BCE in pottery. Its composition included rice, honey, and fruit. While not yet a grape wine comparable to those we know today, this discovery attests to the exceptional antiquity of fermentation practices in China.
The Eurasian vine and the wine Grapes entered Chinese history more clearly during the Han dynasty. In the 2nd century BCE, the imperial emissary Zhang Qian traveled to the kingdoms of Central Asia. Upon his return, he brought back to the court information about vineyards and wines produced, in particular, in the Ferghana Valley. Vines were then introduced near Chang'an, present-day Xi'an, one of the easternmost points of the Silk Road.
Grape wine remained rare for a long time, reserved for elites, dignitaries, and imperial banquets. However, it experienced a period of greater visibility under the Tang dynasty, between the 7th and 10th centuries. Trade with the oases of Central Asia spread new grape varieties and new winemaking methods. Wine then appeared in poetry, associated with journeys to the West, grand celebrations, and a certain lifestyle cosmopolitan.
Despite these episodes, grape wine failed to supplant grain-based spirits. It wasn't until the end of the 19th century that truly structured, industrial-scale production emerged.
1892, the birth of Changyu in Yantai
Modern history begins in Yantai, a port city in Shandong province. In 1892, the Chinese entrepreneur and diplomat Zhang Bishi, also known as Cheong Fatt Tze, founded the Zhang Yu Wine Company, which later became Changyu.
His ambition went beyond simply creating a vineyard. In a China still under the Qing dynasty, Zhang Bishi aimed to develop a national industry capable of combining Chinese capital, local agricultural knowledge, and Western expertise. The founding of Changyu is now considered the starting point of modern industrial viticulture in China.
The beginnings were difficult. The company imported 124 varieties and nearly 690,000 vine plants from Europe. Many of these did not thrive in the climate and soils of Shandong. After several attempts, Changyu's teams grafted the imported varieties onto local wild rootstocks, better suited to the conditions in Yantai. This combination of European plant material and Chinese resources already foreshadowed the company's philosophy: learn from other sources, then adapt rather than simply reproduce.
Changyu also recruited a European specialist, the Austro-Hungarian Baron August Wilhelm von Babo, who became one of the estate's first technical managers. At the same time, the company undertook the construction of a vast underground cellar near the sea. Begun in 1894 and completed after several phases of work in 1905, it helped to firmly establish the practice of barrel aging in Yantai.
The company produced its first bottle of wine in 1899, followed by its first brandy in 1914. The following year, several of its wines and spirits won awards at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. For a fledgling Chinese industry still finding its footing, this international recognition had considerable significance.
From Yantai to the new Chinese vineyards
Changyu has not limited itself to its historical roots. The company has gradually developed estates in several regions of China: Shandong, Liaoning, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, the area around Beijing, and especially Ningxia. According to the company, its portfolio now comprises more than 16,000 hectares of vineyards and eight grand châteaux in China, in addition to several international properties.
This expansion is paralleled by that of the entire Chinese wine industry. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine estimates its surface area at approximately 733,000 hectares in 2025, placing China third in the world. A significant portion of this land, however, remains dedicated to table grapes and raisins: the extent of the vineyards therefore does not directly correspond to the volume of wine produced.
Among the most promising regions is Ningxia, west of Beijing, at the foot of the Helan Mountains. The climate there is continental, dry, and very sunny, with significant temperature variations between day and night. Winters are cold enough that winegrowers are forced to bury part of the vines to protect them from frost.
It is in this environment that Changyu developed Château Changyu Moser XV, in collaboration with the Austrian oenologist Lenz M. Moser. Cabernet Sauvignon plays a central role. It gives rise to structured red wines, but also to a more unexpected creation: a Cabernet Sauvignon vinified as a white wine, following the principle of Blanc de Noirs. The juice is quickly separated from the skins to preserve a pale color, before being aged, depending on the cuvée, in tanks or French oak barrels.
The cuvée Purple Air Comes From the EastMade from Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine illustrates the estate's high-end ambitions. Its name, which can be interpreted as "purple air comes from the East," refers to a Chinese expression associated with luck, prosperity, and the arrival of a favorable event.
These wines no longer simply seek to imitate Bordeaux standards. They are beginning to reflect the specific conditions of Chinese terroirs: small berries, high concentration, sun-ripened grapes, and pronounced tannic structures. The European influence remains, particularly in grape varieties and winemaking techniques, but it is now confronted with a different geography and culture.
France, a historical partner and territory of establishment
Changyu's relationship with France did not begin in Paris. In 2002, the company had already created Château Changyu-Castel in Yantai with the French Castel group, introducing to China a concept of the estate inspired by the Bordeaux model.
From the 2010s onward, the trend reversed: Changyu began investing directly in French vineyards. In 2015, the group acquired a majority stake in Château Mirefleurs in Bordeaux. In 2019, it partnered with AdVini within L&M Holdings to manage Mirefleurs and Château Liversan. The announced shareholding structure gives Changyu 55% and AdVini 45%.
This Bordeaux presence serves several purposes. It provides access to recognized technical expertise, European distribution networks, and a better understanding of building an international wine brand. It also requires Changyu to adapt its management methods. After initially sending Chinese teams, the company has gradually shifted towards more local governance and a balanced partnership with its French partners.
Paris represents a different stage. It is no longer just about owning or managing vineyards, but about speaking directly to the European public.
Galerie 1892, a Parisian showcase for Chinese wine
Inaugurated in February 2026, the Changyu 1892 Art Gallery It showcases the house's bottles alongside French wines, Japanese whiskies, sakes, and international spirits. A photographic exhibition traces its history, from the first plantations in Yantai to the contemporary estates in Ningxia.
The space hosts tastings and events for enthusiasts, as well as sommeliers, buyers, restaurateurs, and hospitality professionals. The stakes are high: to develop in Europe, Chinese wine must move beyond the stage of mere curiosity and enter the usual channels of education, recommendation, and tasting.
The opening of this location coincided with Changyu's highly successful first participation in Wine Paris 2026. During his visit to the trade fair, Emmanuel Macron stopped by the group's stand, where he was presented with a six-liter bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Ningxia. Beyond the official ceremony, the image encapsulates the ongoing evolution: Chinese wines are no longer presented solely as products destined for their domestic market, but as potential competitors and partners for major wine-producing nations.
A round trip between two wine cultures
Changyu's history can be read as a long circular movement. At the end of the 19th century, Europe provided the vines, techniques, and part of the aesthetic vocabulary that allowed China to build its modern wine industry. The house then assimilated this knowledge, adapted it to the climates of Shandong, Xinjiang, and Ningxia, and gradually developed its own expressions.
Her move to Paris represents the return journey. Changyu is no longer simply looking for a model: she is presenting the result of more than a century of adaptation, research and experimentation.
In a country where the concept of terroir is practically a national language, convincing people will inevitably take time. Galerie 1892 offers precisely this space for discovery. It allows visitors to taste before judging, to place wines within their geographical context, and to understand that Chinese viticulture is neither defined by its vastness nor its recent emergence.
Just steps away from the grand Parisian wine houses, Changyu opens a window onto a different story of wine. A story ancient in its roots, modern in its construction, and now confident enough to tell its tale in the heart of Paris.
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