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It is a grape time of year in Ningxia.
In August the harvest begins up north, in the shadow of the Helan mountains.
By November more than 40,000 hectares of vineyards
an area roughly four times the size of Paris—will have been combed over.
Growers do not enjoy the fruits of their labour for long.
Once the harvest is completed, viticulturists get to digging:
they must bury their vines before temperatures plummet to -15°C.
Ningxia, a region in north-western China close to the Gobi desert, endures harsh winters.
Nonetheless, it provides fertile ground for winemakers.
The capital, Yinchuan, sits at the same latitude as Napa Valley, a centre of wine production in California.
Ningxia gets 3,000 hours of fruit-ripening sun each year—the same as in parts of Spain.
The rocky soil drains quickly and allows vines to put down deep roots.
People have been making wine in China at least since the Han dynasty (206BC-220AD)
and perhaps even longer, judging from some archaeological evidence.
Today wine is a big industry: