LUZHOU - The 2012 Expo of Chinese Liquor Golden Triangle kicked off in the city of Luzhou in Southwest China's Sichuan province on March 22.

Visitors flock to the Expo of Chinese Liquor Golden Triangle held in Luzhou on March 22, 2012.[Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Organized and sponsored by the Sichuan provincial government, the Ministry of Commerce, China Alcoholic Drinks Industry Association and Luzhou municipal government, the expo drawing nearly 8,000 dealers and participants have displayed liquor made in Yibin and Luzhou cities in Sichuan and along the Chishyui River Valley in neighboring Guizhou province which are known as the Chinese Liquor Golden Triangle.

With an exhibition area of more than 28,000 square meters, the expo has featured more than 200 local liquor producers in Luzhou represented by Luzhoulaojiao and Langjiu as well as more than 60 well-known Chinese producers such as Moutai, Wuliangye, Jiannanchun and Fenjiu, according to Luzhou mayor Liu Qiang.

Lu Zhengmin, a leading official from the Ministry of Commerce, said that Sichuan's liquor industry is quite influential nationwide, and that the Expo of Chinese Liquor Golden Triangle will further spread the influence of Sichuan and Luzhou's liquor in particular.

Since 2008, Luzhou, a city known for its time-honored liquor culture, has held the Expo of Chinese Liquor Golden Triangle four times.

Speaking on behalf of more than 5 million people in his city, the Party chief of Luzhou Liu Guoqiang, who extended his warm welcome to all the participants in the expo's opening ceremony, said that his city had endorsed the strategy made by the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Sichuan provincial government to forge the Chinese Liquor Golden Triangle in recent years.

The efforts have paid off. Sales of the city's liquor sector amounted to 46.7 billion yuan ($7.4 billion), 7.8 times the figure for 2006. Its profits and taxes paid to the State amounted to 11.5 billion yuan, 8.7 times the figure for 2006, he said.

Luzhoulaojiao and Langjiu not only firmly occupy the domestic market but also are sold well in North America, Europe, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Their sales overseas surpassed 16 billion yuan and 10 billion yuan respectively, he added.