In 2018, 32 National Champion Sommeliers were invited to Ningxia China for The First Silkroad Champion Sommeliers Challenge. Pan-America : Canada, USA, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay Europe : Russia, Norway, Belgium, Czech, Austria, Hungary, Georgia and Italy Asia-Oceanic : New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippine and South Korea 8 Champion Sommeliers from The Greater China 8 Teams were formed, each with 4 Champion Sommeliers from Different Continents.

Before visiting Ningxia, the Sommeliers were met in Hongzhou, Shenzhen, Changsha and Xiamen where they experienced the history, cuisine and hospitality of these areas. During the 5 days in Ningxia, they visited wineries, experiencing as Wine Tourist Visitors, the historic sights of the Western Xia mausoleums, the Face-like motif at the Helankou site and Helan Shan, Ningxia.

The Champion Sommelier Challenge was created to have teams combineing 4 Sommeliers, one from each continent, plus one Chinese Sommelier. Members of the Champion Team were : Salvatore Salerno from Italy, Carl LePage from Canada, Maciej from New Zealand and Arneis Wu from Mainland China.

At the end of the Ningxia visit, the Sommeliers signed an Ambassador appointment agreement to promote Ningxia Helan Mountain East Slope Wine Region.