Great Wall Cigar Hosts 6th Cigar Festival In Shifang, China

Great Wall Cigars hosted the The 6th Shifang Cigar Festival in Shifang, China from 5-8 November. Located the northwestern part of Sichuan Province, and with 400 years of cigar tobacco growing history, Shifang is known as the hometown of Chinese cigars, and Great Wall Cigars’ production facility is also located in the city.  

Approximately 600 guests gathered in Shifang to experience four days of cigar culture and lifestyle which included visits the Chinese Cigar Town, China Cigar Museum, and other attractions. Activities included a Cigar Lovers Forum, Great Wall Cigar International Academic Forum, Cigar Blending Competition, Cigar Culture and Art Competition, Slow Smoking Pipe Competition, and an Evening Cigar Party, co-hosted by Great Wall Cigar and Shifang Municipal Government.

The event was also broadcast live to an audience of 10,000 people, connecting the main venues to branch venues in more than 100 cities across China. The event was also broadcast live through social media platforms which attracted 23000 participants in China.

The Cuban ambassador to China Carlos Miguel Pereira and the Dominican Republic ambassador to China Briunny Garabito Segura attended the opening ceremony of the cigar festival. Other international guests included Pedro Ventura, a key member of the Grupo de Maestros and New Product Development Manager for premium hand-made cigars at Tabacalera de García, Jorge Tapies, Head of Cigar Journal Latin America S.A., and Eduardo Gonzalez, the CEO of Compania Tabacos Quisqueya SRL. Each contributed to the Festival’s Academic Forum though video sessions to guests.

Helping improve the Chinese cigar consumer’s knowledge about cigars, Alibaba Group released a blockchain production traceability system jointly developed with Great Wall Cigars’ parent company China Tobacco Sichuan Industrial Co. Ltd. The system allows consumers to scan an identification mark on the cigar box to understand detailed information of each step of cigar production from tobacco leaf to finished cigar.

To commemorate the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Ox in 2021, Great Wall Cigar released two limited edition cigars, Great Wall Chinese Zodiac Limited Edition Year of the Ox and Great Wall Collector’s EditionYear of the Ox during the festival. The Chinese Zodiac Limited Edition is limited to 5000 boxes and the Collector’s Edition is limited to 40 boxes.

Great Wall Cigar Factory, founded in Shifang in 1918, is China’s largest cigar manufacturer and the country’s only pipe tobacco manufacturer. In 2020, Great Wall handmade premium cigar sales have grown by 160% on 2019 sales figures.