The Biggest Grape Themed Park In The World

The arch and cartoon grapes at the northern entrance [Women of China/Zhang Ping]

In Yanqing, a leafy suburb on the outskirts of Beijing, the International Grape Exhibition Park is currently open to the public.

As the biggest grape themed park in the world, covering and area of 2 million square meters, the park opened on a trial basis in June 2014, and operated formally during the 11th World Grape Conference at the end of July.

A total of 786 varieties of new grape from more than 40 countries all over the world are planted in the park. This number will swell to 1,014 varieties of grape by the spring of 2015. There are 38 grape vines above the age of 50 in the park, one of which is 120 years old. Besides the outdoor grapes, there are some grown in the intelligent greenhouse and solar greenhouse, allowing tourists and visitors to pick all kinds of grapes all year round.

The park is classified into different areas for experiencing and displaying. Visitors can learn the history of grape planting and related knowledge in the grape museum and the wine chateau. Visitors can also watch the wine brewing process and enjoy wine tasting events. The park will be open until the end of October. On weekends and holidays, local folk culture and theatrical performances themed around grape culture can be appreciated.

How to get there:

The park is easily accessible, and can be driven to from downtown Beijing, along with the Beijing-Tibet highway. Take the Kang Zhuang exit and then travel along Kang Zhang road. After passing Guanting Bridge, the directions to the park are clearly signposted.

Going by bus, you can take 919 at Deshengmen station and get off at Yanqing County to transfer to bus Y01, and then get off at the Xi Zhuo Jia Ying stop, 1km away from the destination.