Yilite

Yilite grew from a distillery set up in 1956 at Xiaoerbulake in the Ili valley by the 359th Brigade, a celebrated Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps unit, first supplying the Corps itself; renamed the Xinjiang Ili General Distillery in 1988, it was restructured into Xinjiang Yilite Industrial and listed on the Shanghai exchange in 1999, becoming Xinjiang's largest baijiu maker.

Brewed from Tianshan snowmelt and five grains led by Ili-valley sorghum, the "Yili" range is celebrated as Xinjiang's first liquor; its Yili Laojiao and Yilitequ sell nationwide and stand as the province's signature baijiu.

Its brewing draws on the Ili valley's water, soil and wild microbe flora, using the traditional fragrant-style method of solid-state fermentation in mud pits with mixed steaming, then long cellar ageing, yielding a mellow, sweet body that shows the distinctive character of northwestern Chinese baijiu.

Yilite was inscribed on the third batch of China Time-Honored Brands published by MOFCOM and four other ministries in February 2024.