For many Beijing natives, the beverage brand Beibingyang or Arctic Ocean carries powerful memories of their pasts, but also the history of the city itself.

Though more than a half century has passed since Beibingyang was first rolled out from an old ice-making factory in Beijing, the brand, with an output of one million bottles each day, falls short of market demands now.

In the 1980s, Beibingyang dominated the soda market before it built a joint venture with the US-based PepsiCo in 1994. After that, the popular fizzy drink disappeared from the shelves of Chinese stores. This held true until 2011, when the best-selling orange soda reappeared after the company won brand management back from the US beverage giant.