Baijiu produced in southern China are typically made from glutinous rice, while those from northern China are generally made of sorghum or other grains.

The Chinese traditionally serve baijiu either warm or at room temperature from a small ceramic bottle, poured into small cups. In its domestic market baijiu accounts for just over half of all alcohol sales and the Chinese market is so large that globally, baijiu represents nearly a third of worldwide spirit sales, despite being relatively unknown in the West.

Baijiu tends to be fermented in open pits, so local yeasts and other microbial flora heavily influence its taste, though some producers use yeast cultures which they have cultivated for centuries. The style of fermentation and distillation allows flavoursome congeners (volatile impurities such as esters and acetals) into the distillate at such levels that most western distillers (and drinkers) would consider faulty.

This style of fermentation and distillation produces four major styles (and nine minor styles) of Baijiu:

Nóng Xiāng or Lú Xīang (濃香 or 瀘香) 'Heavy Aroma' Baijiu - is very pungent with lots of esters, primarily ethyl acetate, which gives the baijiu heady notes of nail-varnish remover and pear-drops. Moutai, the best-known baijiu brand, sits within this category.

Jiàng Xiāng (醬香) 'Sauce Aroma' Baijiu - is highly fragrant but with sweet and sour umami notes reminiscent of soy sauce (hence the name).

Mǐ Xiāng (米香) 'Rice Aroma' Baijiu - as the name suggests, is distilled from rice and tends to have a buttery flavour due to the presence of ethyl lactate.

Qīng Xiāng or fēn Xiāng (清香 or汾香) 'Light Aroma' Baijiu - resembles a rough vodka and contains few congeners. Light Aroma Baiju is further categorised into three sub-categories: Big Qu Light Aroma, Small Qu Light Aroma and Fu Qu Light Aroma.