Wine down the track

"We have a separate kitchen in the carriage, and we invite chefs from different wineries in the Helan Mountains' East Foothill Wine Region to take turns to cook for the passengers," says Yang.

Sommeliers pair wines with the dishes and pass on their wine knowledge to the passengers.

"After the train arrives in Yinchuan the next morning, the passengers can visit the vineyards in the region, pick grapes and sample different wines," says Yang.

The Helan Mountains' East Foothill Wine Region was recognized as a national geographical-indication protection-product area by the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine in 2002.

In 2013, the region launched its first winery classification system to improve the regulation of the production of quality wines in China.

The area now has 86 wineries growing grapes over some 38,000 hectares with an annual production of about 100,000 tons of wine. The wineries have created about 120,000 job opportunities and attract more than 400,000 tourists each year.