Zhouzhuang is teeming with rice. In the old days, it boasted a great tradition of wine brewing. In its heyday, there were 14 wine breweries in Zhouzhuang. Each year, they supplied the market with more than 100 million jin rice wine alone (that is 50 million kilograms). The town was best known for distilling liquor.

The liquor is processed in the following way: A: cook the glutinous rice of that year, mix it with distiller's yeast, place them in jars, and wait for them to mature. B: Remove the brewers' grains, add river water into jars and place them against walls. C: In a few months, the clean and fragrant liquor Kao Bi Qing (clean liquor processed against the walls) is ready.

Since such precious liquor is made in October of the lunary year, it is called October liquor.