Li Yuqin observes the color and clarity of a liquor. 

Young professional taster Li Yuqin from Gujinggong Liquor Co. in east China's Anhui Province spoke to interviewers recently to share her story about Chinese alcoholic drinks after winning gold in a tasting competition.
Li, 30, tastes more than 40 kinds of liquors a day, and has sampled a total of well over 60,000 glasses in the past four years. She is the youngest state-level liquor taster in her company.
In summer 2011, after graduating from university, Li entered the company's Technical Quality Center as an intern.
"At the beginning, we were responsible for the evaluation of the original liquor, which had a high alcohol content and a strong taste. I had not quite adapted to the job for the first month, and I even felt a bit of pain at the tip of my nose," said Li.
Sensory evaluation is an important means of testing the quality of liquor. Tasters use the sensory technique to feel and describe the smell and taste of the original beverages to provide important information for enterprises to improve their product's quality or develop new lines.
According to Li, she followed her mentor at first and got familiar with Chinese liquors through constant theoretical study and evaluation in the first month in the post.
Cosmetics can affect a liquor's aroma. Therefore, in order not to influence her sense of smell and taste, Li never wears make-up.
Moreover, her usual daily skin care products and toiletries should not be scented, nor should she eat irritant food.
She wears a white coat and travels through the lab every day. Liquor tasting, experiments and keeping tasting notes have become the typical routine in her daily work life.
"After three months in the job, I had a basic judgment on alcohol. A standard formed in my mind. I could roughly distinguish the good ones from the bad ones based on their taste and fragrance," Li explained.
Under the guidance of her master and with her own efforts, Li gradually developed her own taste experience and found that she liked the profession.
Li said that liquor has become an integral part of her life.
The 3rd National Liquor Tasting Professional Skills Competition was held in south China's Guangdong Province in 2015.
Li participated in the contest and competed with nearly 265 liquor tasters from 150 wines enterprises across the country.
Through theoretical tests and on-site evaluation, she finally won first place in the country with highest comprehensive scores, and was presented with the gold award.
After winning the prize, Li did not show any special excitement overtly. She just felt "internally happy and fulfilled," she said.
"This is a challenging job, and whenever I feel like I haven't mastered a certain kind of liquor, it will stimulate my curiosity to explore it," Li said.
After the competition, Li went back to the tasting room to go on with her work as usual. "Only good wine makes sense," Li once said.
She believes that the health indicators and physical and chemical indicators of alcohol can be assessed by instruments. However, the assessment and appraisal of the sensory quality of alcohol can only be accurate through the concentration and numerous efforts of the highly trained testers.
Therefore, as a liquor taster, she has the responsibility to select good wines for people.