Wineries Near Beijing: A Day Trip to Huailai

Huailai sits in a basin between mountains, around the Guanting Reservoir. Vino Joy News, which visited this summer, says the vineyards benefit from altitude, steady wind, the surrounding mountains and the reservoir.

It's also a real wine county, not one winery on its own. Chinanews Hebei reported in October 2026 that Huailai has 41 wine producers, making more than 500 products under more than 80 brands. It also has three geographical indications, which are protected place names like Champagne or Rioja: Shacheng wine (沙城葡萄酒), Huailai grapes (怀来葡萄) and Huailai wine (怀来葡萄酒).

Our Hebei region page has the wider picture.

You have two choices.

• High-speed train: about 40 minutes from Beijing, according to China Economic News Network (CEN). Vino Joy puts the distance at about 120 km.
• Car: about an hour and a half, per CEN. Vino Joy says to allow one to two hours depending on route and traffic.

The wineries are spread around the county, not next to the station. So plan the last few kilometres: book a car, or ask your winery whether it can collect you. We're not listing train times or fares here because they change. Check them on 12306, China's official rail booking site, before you go.

Canaan Winery

Don't confuse Canaan with Kanaan. Huailai's Canaan Winery is a different company from Kanaan Winery in Ningxia, even though the names sound the same in English.

Canaan is the easiest Huailai estate for English speakers. Vino Joy News reports tours in Mandarin, English, French and German, covering the vineyards, the winemaking and tasting. It sits about 80 km from central Beijing, with three vineyards at roughly 498 to 1,050 metres above sea level and about 400 mm of rain a year. That's a dry climate for grapes.

It has outside recognition, too. Canaan was listed in the World's Best Vineyards at No. 80 in 2023 and No. 77 in 2024. Since 2023 it has also held a music festival among the vines. The fourth one was on 5 September 2026, and the first three drew more than 1,500 visitors, per Vino Joy.

Great Wall Château Sungod

Great Wall Château Sungod (长城桑干酒庄, Chángchéng Sānggān Jiǔzhuāng) belongs to COFCO Great Wall, one of China's biggest wine companies. It's in Dongshuiquan Village, Shacheng Town. Vino Joy links it to China's first standardised dry white wine and mentions a 2006 traditional-method sparkling wine, made the same way as Champagne. China Daily's tourism page describes an underground cellar, a wine-culture museum, tasting and grape picking.

Sungod also has a hotel (see "Staying overnight" below).

Ruiyun Winery

Ruiyun (瑞云酒庄, Ruìyún Jiǔzhuāng) is in Dongyulin Village, Donghuayuan Town. Ctrip puts its vineyard at about 540 metres. CEN reports that Ruiyun has teamed up with the Tsingpu hotel group to bundle its underground cellar tour with rooms, meals and cultural activities as a weekend package.

World Wine Window

The World Wine Window (世界葡萄酒之窗, Shìjiè Pútáojiǔ zhī Chuāng) is less a winery than a wine museum and showcase. CEN says it runs a "journey of a grape" programme with model wineries, winemaking demonstrations and tastings. It's useful if you're travelling with children or want the background before you taste. Ctrip puts it about 320 m from the Sungod hotel, so you can do both in one stop.

Here's one way to shape the trip. It's a suggestion, not a timetable, so check opening times with each winery when you book.

Day trip. Take a morning train from Beijing. Book a car from Huailai station to Canaan for an English-language tour and tasting; book it ahead, as you would any winery visit. After lunch, drive to Shacheng Town for Great Wall Château Sungod and the World Wine Window next door. Catch an evening train back.

Overnight. Do the same first day, then check in at the Ruiyun retreat. Next morning, take Ruiyun's cellar tour before heading back to Beijing. You'll have seen three estates without rushing.

Whatever you choose, have the Chinese names of each place saved on your phone. Drivers will find 桑干酒庄 faster than "Sungod".

A day trip works. But staying a night lets you see two or three estates at an easy pace. Two places to consider:

• Tsingpu Badaling Ruiyun Retreat (青普文化行馆 怀来八达岭瑞云店), at Ruiyun Winery. It has 15 rooms, and it's listed on Ctrip, Trip.com and Expedia. Ctrip says it accepts guests from any country or region, and suggests calling a day ahead (+86 155 1230 8080). This is the better bet for foreign visitors.
• Great Wall Château Sungod hotel (怀来中粮长城桑干酒庄), opened in 2014, has 26 rooms, with panoramic windows over the vineyard according to CEN. Note: Ctrip says it only takes guests with a mainland China resident ID. If you're travelling on a foreign passport, phone first (0313-6831899) or stay at Ruiyun.

We haven't checked availability for any particular dates.

Huailai markets itself through the seasons: blossom in spring, cool air in summer, grape picking in autumn and wellness breaks in winter, per Chinanews Hebei. Autumn is the obvious choice for wine lovers. The 27th Huailai Grape (Wine) Season opened in September 2026, according to CEN.

There's also a ticket-stub scheme (票根, piàogēn). Keep your entry ticket from one of the participating spots and you get discounts at others. CEN says it started with 18 scenic spots plus hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, wineries and study centres. Ask at your first stop.

Huailai isn't China's biggest wine region; Ningxia, with 261 wine enterprises, is far larger. But it's the closest real wine country to the capital, with 41 producers and three protected names, and it's Great Wall's historic home. The province is now pushing it hard as a weekend escape for the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei area: CEN's report is headlined about turning tasting trips into "deep holiday" stays.

• Visit it: take the train to Huailai and start at Canaan or Sungod. See our Visit hub for more.
• Drink it: in Shanghai or Beijing, see where to drink Chinese wine in Shanghai and Macau. Beijing's Fu Chun Ju and Somm's Table are on it too.
• Read next: Chinese wine guide · Chinese wine grapes · Hebei