When most Chinese people knew little about chateaus, Yantai saw an increasing number of European-style chateaus along its 100-km coastline.

“It has become a grape coast with a cluster of world-famous chateaus, and Chinese people are getting familiar with chateaus,” said Sun Chengxian, president of the Yantai Wine Association. “The rise of chateaus will upgrade the Chinese wine industry development,” he added.

Located on the western coast of Yantai, Chateau Changyu Castel opened to the public on September 8, 2002. The chateau has European garden-styled buildings and covers an area of 142 hectares, including 135 hectares of vineyard.

The vineyard is planted with world-renowned grape varieties. As the first professional chateau in China, the chateau integrates high-end wine making, sightseeing and wine culture. Here, wine lovers can pick grapes during the harvest season, visit the wine cellar and taste different wines. Wine collectors can store their wines in the wine cellar, where nearly 100 film stars and business leaders store their own wines.

Originating in France, the chateau has gained increasing popularity among consumers and tourists. It has received more than 600,000 tourists every year. The chateau is now an important premium wine production facility.

Chateau Changyu Castel has ushered in an era of chateau-oriented wine industry development in Yantai. Chateaus have been built one after another in districts and cities around Yantai, including Penglai, Zhaoyuan, Qixia, Longkou and Laishan.

So far, the number of chateaus in Yantai, including those under construction, has exceeded 40, and by 2015 there will be more than 50 chateaus in Yantai. As a grape-producing area, Yantai boasts the most chateaus in China. Many of them are managed by both well-known overseas chateaus and domestic wine companies. Thus Yantai’s wine industry can enjoy simultaneous development with the international wine industry.

Located in Penglai, Chateau Junding covers an area of 6 square kilometers with a total investment of more than 300 million yuan ($48.64 million). It has become a personalized facility for wine production, grape cultivation, research and development, top wine exchange, and wine-themed leisure tourism.

“With the integration of viticulture, wine making and wine-themed tourism, the wine chateau has shown its great vitality,” said Sun Chengxian.

Now, Penglai highlights an 18-kilometer long grape sightseeing corridor and a large wine grape base covering an area of 150,000 mu (10,000 hectares).

Three grape valleys in Penglai attracted some 30 domestic and overseas high-end chateaus to settle, including Chateau Junding, Chateau Huadong Parry, Chateau Happy News in China, Chateau Lafite Rothschild from France, Chateau Scotland in the US, the Australian Chateau Wozu, and the Canadian Chateau Wencheng.

About 100,000 mu of grapes have been planted, with an annual wine output of 20,000 tons.

Chateau Lafite Rothschild, invested by Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite), will be built in Penglai, making Penglai the third overseas production base of Lafite after Argentina and Chile. The chateau will blend Western architecture style with Chinese elements and feature a 25-hectare grape planting area. It will produce 120,000 bottles of high-quality Lafite every year.

“As a coastal wine-producing region, Penglai is quite promising for premium wines. That is why we chose the location,” said Eric Kohler, technical director of Chateau Lafite Rothschild.

Laishan is also planning to invest 5 billion yuan to build a chateau industrial cluster. The district aims to construct 54 chateaus in an area of 70 square kilometers. Upon completion, those chateaus are expected to receive more than 1 million visitors every year.

High-end chateaus in Yantai, with different architectural styles, attract 1.5 million visitors every year for grape picking, ecological sightseeing and wine culture experience. They have become a new highlight of Yantai’s tourism.