Award-winning Ningxia vineyards among green projects backed by SAIC GM Chevrolet

The sunshine in the area is very suitable for the growing of grapes. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Despite the unexpectedly harsh conditions, they persevered and undertook afforestation and land cultivation. Year after year, they improved the soil and environment, and eventually introduced and tested grape varieties suitable for the region.

In 2013, Chen set up the Ho-lan Soul Chateau, which has an annual production capacity of 5,000 metric tons.

Thanks to decades of efforts of thousands of workers like Chen, the grape planting area in the region has reached 35,000 hectares. It accounts for one-third of the country's total and is the largest concentrated area for wine grape production in China.

There are currently more than 200 wineries in the region producing 130 million bottles of wine annually. This has provided 130,000 jobs for local residents in total and generates an output value of 30 billion yuan ($4.32 billion) per year.