"Qiliangye", formerly known as "Qiongjiang Royal Liquid", originated in the Song Dynasty and was a special wine for the royal banquet in the Song Dynasty. Gao Xi, the supervisor of Song Dynasty (the ancestor of Gao Jipeng, who is now the general manager of Qiliangye Old Distillery), was ordered to be responsible for transporting seven kinds of brewing grains (sorghum, barley, wheat, peas, millet, rice and glutinous rice) and 0/3 kinds of precious Chinese medicines presented to the emperor by the doctors in Bianliang City (now Kaifeng Prefecture) in Song Dynasty. Later, due to the war, this wine was lost, and the secret recipe of brewing was also lost to the descendants of the Gaos. Now, with the consent of the 18th generation of Gao, Gao Jipeng, a descendant of Gao, is responsible for redeveloping this wine, and renamed "Qiongjiang Royal Liquid" as "Qiliangye".

The manufacturer of "Qiliangye" moved from Henan to Beijing in 2009, mainly selling in the northern region, which is at the low end of the liquor market, and the price is around 200 yuan/bottle. At present, the factory is located in the west of Dongxing Garden Village, Wu Le Town, Pinggu District, Beijing. The site covers an area of 170 mu, with an estimated annual output of 150 tons and a project investment of 5 million yuan. The original factory was Qiliangye Brewery in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and it was officially moved to Beijing in 2009. Sichuan Yibin Wuliangye Co., Ltd. sued both the manufacturer and the seller of liquor "Qiliangye", arguing that the other party infringed on its registered trademark right.