Hello, whisky lovers and Nine Rivers Distillery enthusiasts! Greetings from Longyan. It’s been a while since we last connected, and we’re thrilled to break the silence.
Most of us have been enjoying summer holidays and travelling far and wide to see relatives in our home countries. This summer was the first chance that most of us got to travel in a few years, but let’s not go down that rabbit hole.
Our most recent open day was nothing short of spectacular—a blend of educational insights, walking around the beautiful Longyan landscape, and an endless flow of top-notch whisky. A heartfelt salute to the entire 9RD team and every visitor who contributed to making the event a great memory. Thanks for taking the time to read and I hope you enjoy exploring Longyan and Nine Rivers Distillery with me.
A group came to our site back in May to see what was going on with our project (we wrote an article about it). Some of us also used it as an opportunity to get to know Longyan in all it’s glory. I took some notes that I have finally penned down and am eager to share with you. In this article, I’m going to focus mainly on our day exploring Xinluo, including the architecture and food.
Dragon Rock: A Primer
You might be wondering what a ‘dragon rock’ is. Truth be told, I was curious too. Dragon Rock is the literal English translation of Longyan, which I think is delightfully whimsical; it makes me think of a young King Arthur but instead of a sword he must successfully identify regions of whisky based on taste to become CEO. Anyway, as part of our journey exploring Longyan and Nine Rivers Distillery.
An Unexpected Adventure in Longyan’s Xinluo District
While exploring Longyan and Nine Rivers Distillery, we took an evening to venture into the Xinluo District, previously named ‘Longyan County’. None of us were sure what to expect as we all come from large ‘tier one’ cities. We found a bustling area with immaculate streets, interesting shops, and welcoming locals.
We discovered that beyond being our distillery’s home, Longyan is a hub of activity and natural beauty. We finished dinner early one night and decided to wander around. The streets were so clean you could eat off them—though I wouldn’t recommend it, considering the seemingly endless local food stalls lining the roads. We found a huge park with dancing lights and people relaxing, just enjoying their lives as carefree as those in any other city in China.
The locals looked at us with a mix of curiosity and warmth, as if we were celebrities who just walked into a small-town diner. It was a refreshing change from the anonymity of bigger cities. It really was a different sight from where I am currently living in China. Instead of the sedentary style kids have adopted now, glued to their smart phones, they were socializing and running around together.
Longyan’s Hakka Culture and Unique Architecture
When it comes to exploring Longyan and Nine Rivers Distillery, one can’t forget that Longyan is a treasure trove of Hakka culture, and one of the main highlights are undoubtedly the Tulou buildings. Tulou buildings are one-part ancient apartment complex and one-part castle. Imagine a colossal, circular structure (sometimes square, but the circular ones are better known) with a protective outer wall made of rammed earth—sometimes as thick as six feet! These aren’t just buildings; they’re practically mini towns, housing up to 800 people in some locations.
The interior is organized around a central courtyard, often including an ancestral hall. It’s like the social media of yesteryear, where news and gossip flow faster than you can say ‘WeChat’. These structures definitely help us recall Nine River’s commitment to being eco-friendly, as the designs allow for natural ventilation and lighting. Seriously, these structures were eco-friendly before it was cool to be (or hot?).
A Culinary Tour of Longyan
If you’re a food lover exploring Longyan and Nine Rivers Distillery, let me tell you, you’re in for a treat. Imagine biting into the juiciest, freshest fruits you’ve ever tasted, all while standing under the open sky. From lychees to longyans (literally ‘dragon’s eye’, fitting right?), the variety and taste is enough to make you skip a traditional meal. Ever tried dried sweet potato? Or dried bamboo shoots? These are perfect if you want to walk and eat. I could go on and on, especially about wanying tea and luobuo gao (radish cake), but I don’t want to spoil all the surprises!
For anyone interested in having a really good excuse to visit Longyan, we have another open day on 9th September 2023. It’s actually a reschedule of the event we had planned in July, which was interrupted by one of those typhoons. The storm didn’t actually bother our site, but all of the flight and train cancellations made it impossible for everyone to get there.
If you’d like to know more about the open day, use the QR code below. You can still be a part of it. Saturday 9th September 2023.
Would You Like To Read More?
If you enjoyed reading about how we currently don’t see any alternatives to Dramfunded, and you would like to catch up with some of our past articles, then please CLICK HERE and go to our News Section, where most of our other content is published.
Would You like To Know More About Helping Nine Rivers Distillery?
One of the easiest ways to help our project succeed is to take an interest in anything we have for sale. You can find out what we have if you CLICK HERE and go to our shop. We’ll make a few percentage points (after sales tax) and this goes directly to our project.
You could help us by simply buying your very own Brick for Life – a brick with a steel name plate wrapped around it, which will be cemented into The Plenum (our feature wall) in July 2023. Every brick owner is entitled to a free dram for life every time they visit us in Longyan, Fujian.
Or, you could learn more about being involved and help us grow to our target of 1000 stakeholders. You can read more about how we are Dramfunded if you CLICK HERE. You don’t have to be a Star Wars nerd to be part of our proejct!
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