Enjoy rural life at the foot of the Great Wall with -Village Café+- activating new leisure consumption formats
On October 19, the Great Wall Coffee Festival and the Second Huairou “Village Coffee” Competition opened at Beigou Village in Bohai Town, located at the foot of the Mutianyu Great Wall. The event featured a coffee exhibition, lifestyle showcases, a village coffee competition, face-to-face discussions, and even a starlit music concert, attracting over 60 rural coffee shop owners and industry leaders who came together to enhance their coffee-making skills, share experiences, and promote coffee culture. This immersive experience provided a unique consumer scene for both locals and visitors.
The festival included a variety of innovative coffee products and desserts that showcased specialties from Huairou, such as chestnut coffee, rainbow trout sauce coffee eggs, and pumpkin yogurt bowls. A total of 62 exhibitors showcased their unique offerings, featuring special blends, baking goods, coffee equipment, and cultural and creative products. Notably, around 90% of the participating vendors were exhibiting for the first time.
One highlight was Hongli Coffee, which opened just a year ago and quickly became a popular local spot near both the Hongluo Temple and Mutianyu Great Wall. Owner Ge Xiaoli shared that their bestsellers include chestnut Mont Blanc cakes and chestnut lattes. They have also created special items like rainbow trout sauce coffee eggs to satisfy customers’ adventurous tastes while introducing them to Huairou’s local ingredients.
In addition to physical displays, vendors also launched online sales channels to enhance customer experience, bridging the gap between offline tasting and online shopping.
This year’s “Village Coffee” skills competition included over 50 coffee artisans from the region, featuring two rounds: a preliminary hand-brewed coffee segment and a final latte art round. Participants were judged on sensory presentation, aesthetic appeal, and creativity, with awards given for Huairou “Village Coffee” artisans, experts, and skilled baristas.
Lu Ting, owner of tm Coffee, one of the early village cafes in Huairou, quickly registered for the competition after learning about its format. “Even though we are a village coffee shop, our equipment and materials are top-notch. We aim to learn from other competitors while demonstrating our high technical capabilities,” she said.
Unlike last year’s inaugural competition, this year’s format and judging panel leaned more toward professionalism, according to Xu Pengyuan, president of the Huairou Coffee Industry Service Association. This shift is intended to recognize participants’ professional skills and encourage Huairou’s village coffee shop owners to enhance their expertise and service awareness.
The festival also featured the “Face-to-Face with Experts” session, where established coffee industry leaders shared insights and strategies for the ongoing development of Huairou’s rural coffee sector. As the evening fell, a starry music concert complemented the coffee ambiance, creating emotional connections between attendees and the spirit of Huairou.
Throughout the festival, Huairou District also promoted various consumer experiences, encompassing coffee, light meals, local accommodations, scenic spots, and cultural products—linking multiple village coffee hotspots through themed routes.
“The goal is to leverage Huairou’s unique consumer resources to create a platform for exchange and collaboration, nurturing new ‘village coffee+’ leisure consumption models and showcasing the distinctive culture of village coffee,” a spokesperson from the Huairou District Commerce Bureau explained.
This event was co-hosted by the Huairou District Commerce Bureau, Agricultural and Rural Affairs Bureau, Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, and the People’s Government of Bohai Town. It marked the official establishment of the Huairou District Coffee Industry Service Association, which will serve as a new cooperative and training platform to drive the growth of the region’s coffee industry.
In recent years, Huairou District has actively fostered its rural coffee industry, with over 100 coffee shops emerging across its 13 towns, establishing a rich consumer landscape that integrates commerce, agriculture, culture, and tourism, ultimately providing added value and emotional satisfaction to consumers.
