Donghu Vinegar Garden

Donghu Vinegar Garden is a 4A-level industrial scenic spot with vinegar culture as its theme. It was developed from the "Meiheju" vinegar workshop founded in the first year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368). It is the original creator of Shanxi aged vinegar. It is also the first corporatized and factory-based museum in Shanxi Province that dynamically displays the traditional and modern aged vinegar production process and the historical and cultural connotations of aged vinegar.

Highlights of Donghu Vinegar Garden

Vinegar Culture Hall

The Vinegar Culture Hall displays all the production processes and development history of Shanxi aged vinegar. Enter the museum, and visitors can see a row of huge vinegar jars, which contain vinegar of different years. Visitors can open the vinegar jars and smell them. The older the vinegar jars, the softer the smell. In addition, the museum also displays many tools for making vinegar to help visitors understand the process of making vinegar. The tour guide will also teach visitors how to identify whether it is made by hand or machine from the product number on the vinegar packaging.

Tips：When smelling vinegar, wear a mask, sniff gently, and avoid the strong odor that may irritate your nose.

Vinegar Drying Yard

The vinegar drying yard is a place to watch how the workers promote vinegar fermentation. Hundreds of vinegar vats are neatly arranged in the yard, relying entirely on the hot weather for natural fermentation. The workers will open the vinegar vats and stir the vinegar in the vats with long sticks to accelerate the fermentation of the vinegar. It is worth noting that in winter, the workers will also regularly open the vinegar vats to remove the ice in the vinegar vats to prevent ice from affecting the fermentation of the vinegar. This procedure is the famous intangible cultural heritage skill of "drying the vinegar in summer and removing ice in winter" in vinegar making.

Tips：The vinegar drying yard is not allowed to touch the vinegar jars.

Vinegar Therapy Hall

The Vinegar Therapy Hall shows how Shanxi people use vinegar for health. Long ago, Shanxi people would heat vinegar. The vinegar steam fought germs in the air. This helped stop illnesses from spreading. The hall also collects more than 700 vinegar therapy prescriptions, presenting to tourists the many uses of vinegar in health care, disease treatment, etc., reflecting the long history and rich connotation of vinegar therapy, a traditional health-preserving method. Now the Vinegar Therapy Hall also provides vinegar streaming services, where people can experience a vinegar steam sauna, which can disinfect and help clean skin dirt.

Tips：After using the sauna, remember to wash yourself before applying skincare products to keep your skin moisturized.

Handmade Vinegar Workshop

Here, visitors can clearly see the ancient production process of "steaming, fermentation, smoking, rinsing, and drying" of aged vinegar. Here, visitors are not just spectators, but can also experience the production of vinegar crafts and food. Make vinegar soap, vinegar chocolate, and vinegar art refrigerator magnets by yourself, and take the memories of this exclusive vinegar garden home. During the production process, there are experienced masters to guide and help visitors complete the work smoothly. After the experience, visitors can also try 5-year or 8-year aged vinegar for free to appreciate the extraordinary charm of Shanxi aged vinegar.

Tips: This project requires an additional fee， specific prices can be referenced on the official website.

Educational Value

At Donghu Vinegar Garden, displays show vinegar-making tools from the Western Han Dynasty. Visitors can watch Shanxi's traditional methods and watch the entire production process. Over 700 secret recipes for vinegar therapy are kept here, showing vinegar's health benefits. People can try making vinegar themselves. This lets them better understand Shanxi-aged vinegar's cultural protection and modern development.

Activities to do at Donghu Vinegar Garden

Tasting aged vinegar ice cream：At the corner of the exit of Donghu Vinegar Park, there is a stall selling ice cream made from vinegar, which has a unique flavor. Each serving costs 15 yuan. Those interested can try it.