Wine Tour in Treaty Port Vineyard

I stepped off the train at Yantai and looked around. I was in a part of China I'd never been to before, about to work with a group of people I'd never met doing something I'd never done before. As I filed off the platform with all the other weary travellers, I began to think that a less adventurous summer of clubbing and sunbathing might have been a wiser choice. That thought disappeared within 5 minutes of meeting Mrs Lu (the site manager for Treaty Port) and Edward Tian (head of marketing). On that sunny Tuesday and for the next 2 months, they and everyone else at Treaty Port would be welcoming to the point where I felt more like a friend than a colleague.

Treaty Port Vineyard

I had no idea of what to expect from Mulangou. It is on no maps (no, not even Google Earth) and, as far as I could tell, surrounded by miles and miles of fields. I had visions of spending my summer in isolation with only cows to talk to and porridge to eat. This could not have been further from the truth.

On the way to the village itself, I spent more and more time gawking at the countryside out of the taxi windows. Far from being desolate, Shandong is pretty much the orchard of China, with every possible piece of land being crammed with fruit trees. On a sunny day (and there were many) the sight and smell of the fruit ripening on thousands of trees was amazing. Mulangou itself is a small, friendly village of roughly 100 people which sits in the shadow of Qiushan and enjoys views over rolling orchards and the, spectacularly blue, Qiushan lake. It's the kind of place that, if it were in Italy or France, would grace the cover of every travel supplement and be mobbed with Brits on holiday. Thank God it isn’t! 

 Treaty Port owns a restored farmhouse in Mulangou village. Every one of its 6, whitewashed bedrooms were eerily reminiscent of the ones I had left behind in St Anne's. They are spacious and comfy and, most importantly for keeping up with the rest of the world, all have internet connections. They are a great place to avoid the heat of the Shandong midday sun and just as good for relaxing at night.

Things looked pretty good so far but get even better at meal times. If you don’t like Chinese food, don't let this stop you coming to Mulangou. Mrs Fang (the cook) will convert you to the delights of 馒头 so quickly that you will, like me, have to start jogging every day to keep the weight off! Meal times were a great chance for the 8 main employees of Treaty Port to get together and banter about everything under the sun. Any nerves you might have about being thrown into a fairly alien environment will soon disappear under the barrage of banter than will come your way at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

While the combination of manual and more white-collar work (I, for example, helped crush the 2008 vintage's grapes and then headed home to translate the company website into English) will keep you both interested and on your toes, the best part of working at Treaty Port is the chance to meet new people, discover new things and make new friends.  Within a week of arriving at Treaty Port, I felt more like I was joining a family than a company. Going out to dinner with colleagues was always a treat but left me feeling slightly embarrassed since the village's 1 shop didn't really sell any decent presents for my hosts! Living and working at Treaty Port won't just improve your Chinese, you will come home knowing more about making wine than (going by the taste of their wines) any of Treaty Port's competitors.

Not only did I have the chance to spend a great 2 months with the guys at Treaty Port, but the constant through-flow of visitors kept life in a sleepy village from dragging. Mid-autumn festival with local cadres, a beer (or two) with Neville and Mark and lunch with Yantai's very own king of stainless steel, Mr Xiang (if you don't meet this man, you trip isn't complete), these are just a few of the unforgettable experiences I had.

Mulangou

When I got back on the Beijing-bound train at Yantai, I felt genuine sadness at leaving the people who had been such a large, friendly part of my life for 2 months. Treaty Port is not an average 9 to 5 company where people work in cubicles and leave promptly; thanking God another day is over. It is more than that. It is a place full of great people who, while they care deeply about their jobs, never let this stop them from enjoying all the other things in life. While working at Treaty Port, I saw the company grow and felt like I was really making a difference. This was certainly the most fun, rewarding, challenging job I have ever had.