Baijiu in the context of "Chinese cuisine"

Yangshao is a town of Mianchi County, Sanmenxia, Henan, China. Before 2011, it was known as Yangshao township.

It is known for the first archeological site of the Yangshao culture and for Yangshaojiu Baijiu.

Mijiu (Chinese: 米酒; pinyin: mǐjiǔ; Wade–Giles: mi-chiu; lit. 'rice wine'), also spelled michiu, is a Chinese rice wine made from glutinous rice, with the alcohol content ranging between 15% and 20% v/v. It is generally clear in appearance with a balanced taste of sweetness and acidity, similar to its Japanese counterpart sake and Korean counterpart cheongju, and is usually drunk warm like sake and cheongju. A particularly popular category of mijiu is huangjiu or 'yellow wine'. An unfiltered form of mijiu containing whole rice grains is called jiǔniàng (酒酿) or láozāo (醪糟), with extremely low alcoholic content and often consumed by children. A type of baijiu (Chinese liquor) called rice baijiu (Chinese: 米白酒; pinyin: mǐ báijiǔ) is made via further distillation from mijiu.

Beverages similar to mijiu are noted on oracle inscriptions from the late Shang dynasty circa 1200–1046 B.C.E., and archaeological evidence confirms that the production of alcoholic beverages containing rice as part of a mix of fermentables (often including honey and/or fruit) dates back to over 8000 years ago. Rice wine production then spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and other East Asian countries around the Sinosphere during the height of the Han and Tang dynasties. It played an important cultural role in historical Chinese life, with prominent poets such as Li Bai being some of the most famous drinkers. Although largely overtaken by the much stronger baijiu since the Mongol Yuan dynasty, mijiu is still a traditional beverage in parts of southern China and some of the families still follow the custom of homebrewing rice wine. It is sometimes served as an aperitif believed to be beneficial in improving metabolism and skin and is also frequently mixed with herbs and made into medicinal wines such as snake wine and dit da jow.

Osmanthus wine, also known as cassia wine or Kuei Hua Chen Chiew, is a Chinese alcoholic beverage produced from weak baijiu and flavored with sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) flowers. It is distilled but typically has an alcohol content less than 20%.

While the plant itself is sometimes associated with cinnamon, the blossoms' lactones impart a flavor closer to apricots and peaches.

Jiuqu (Chinese: 酒曲; lit. 'liquor yeast'), also simply known as qu, is a type of dried fermentation starter used in the production of traditional Chinese alcoholic beverages. The word jiuqu specifically refers to a type of yeast (曲; 麴; qū) used to make alcohol (酒; jiǔ) such as huangjiu (cereal wine), baijiu (distilled spirits) and jiuniang (alcoholic rice pudding).

Other forms of starters are used for different fermentations, such as soy sauce, rice vinegar, fermented bean curd, and paste. The starter culture for these foods are also known as qu.Jiuqu is similar to, but distinct from, the more widely known Japanese starter known as koji.