-- China has launched a national pilot zone to develop premium wine on the edge of the Gobi Desert, aiming to turn the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain into China's Bordeaux.
-- The pilot zone -- the first of its kind in China -- with a planned area of more than 500 square km, is expected to cultivate 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares) of vineyards in five years, with an estimated output value of 100 billion yuan (15.4 billion U.S. dollars).
-- In the next 15 years, the goal of the wine zone is to have 1.5 million mu of vineyards, with a total output value of 200 billion yuan.