Domestication of pigs from wild boards occurred around 8,000-9,000 years ago. Throughout thousands of years of domestication and selection, China has the most abundant swine genetic resources in the world.

Pigs were traditionally household trash processors and fertilizer producers in China. Before the 80s, most of the pork production in China was of backyard farming, living mostly on plant materials containing little protein. Native Chinese pig breeds were valued for traits such as its high fat content of the carcass and its lard deposition.

Chinese people ate relatively little pork, only on special feasts: pigs historically were raised for nearly a year and were slaughtered for the Spring Festival celebration and their fat was saved to cook other dishes in later occasions.

Because pork was considered a luxury food, pigs are associated in the Chinese culture with prosperity and health. In China, pork is the main meat; if a menu lists the meat in a recipe as simply “meat” (肉), it is most likely pork. In addition, given the prolificity of the Chinese breeds, pigs are also linked to fertility and virility.

Western countries had been interested in the fertility features of the Chinese native pig breeds during the last centuries, used for crossbreeding to improve the ancient European breed lines and led to the modern breeds like the Large White (Yorkshire) and Landrace breeds.

Current situation of Chinese Native Pig

In 1960, the National Livestock Survey identified 108 local pig breeds in China, which were covering most of the local pork production. Since then, some breeds have been extinguished, around 40 breeds are endangered and have been included in the list of protected genetic resources of China, and most of the indigenous breeds have declined in numbers.

Nowadays, China is home to half of the world’s 1.3 billion pigs, and Chinese people eat half of all the pork on the planet. The country has a robust domestic agribusiness dominated by modern pig breeds commonly abbreviated as DLY (hybrids of crossbreeding Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire). Imported breeds account for 90-95% of the national pork produced.

Increased prosperity and urbanization, the shift of pork market demands, and the raise of a health-conscious consumer has allowed leaner imported breeds to gain a great share of the Chinese market. The popularity of native breeds has also diminished within farmers because of economic reasons: imported pigs grow faster (in only six months, compared to about a year of indigenous breeds) and have higher yield returns.

Native breeds are increasingly raised in specialty “boutique pig” farms or on state-funded and largely privately run conservation farms tasked with preserving genetic diversity. Indigenous breeds are considered for their flavor and are especially suitable for traditional Chinese cuisine.

In some cases, local breed sows are cross-bred to create indigenous-exotic hybrids, usually raised in smaller-scale operations, like the Taihu/Duroc cross production, or the Beijing Black, originated from the cross of Berkshire and Large White breeds with Chinese breeds, including the Dingxian, Shenxian and Zhouxian breeds. Those hybrids have an improved weight gain, leaner carcass and reduced back-fat, compared to the local breeds.

Chinese Native Pig Breeds

The remaining native breeds present in China can fall into various groups, being the TaiHu pigs a famous one worldwide for its fertility features, and the Jinghua pig because of its meat quality and ham production.

TAIHU Pig

TaiHu pigs originate from the TaiHu valley, near Shanghai, in a famous agricultural area because of its mild sub-tropical climate, proper rainfall and high crop yields.

TaiHu pigs can be divided into several strains or breeds, depending on the authors, due to variations the character, performance, diet, environment, and genetics (counties and sow breeding centers), being the 4 most popular the Meishan, Fengjing, Jiaxing black and Erhualian.

TaiHu pigs are fed a vegetable diet based on barley, rice bran and roughage, which may cause them calcium deficiencies and limit bone development. They have a large head, wide forehead and thick and wrinkled skin. They have big droopy ears and mouth flaps. The body is covered with black coat, which is sparse and flocky. Of all the TaiHu pigs, Meishan pigs have the largest body size.

They are slow-growing and average body weight at 6 months is around 48kg, the average daily weight gain is of ~450g and the carcass yield of ~66%. They are very well known for their high prolificacy, related to the early sexual development, their mothering ability, and their extra teats. Their average litter size is of fourteen piglets, ranging up to twenty in some cases. They have eight or nine pairs of teats. These breeds are mostly used for crossbreeding purposes and conservation projects.

JINHUA Pig

Jinhua pig originates in Central China, a region with humid and temperate climate. It is a highly agrarian zone that determinates the plant-based diet of this breed, based on green and aquatic plants.

Jinhua pig is medium-sized, with a white body and black head and rump. Because of its coat, it is also named “two-end-black”. Its back has a small curvature, and its skin is fine.

Jinhua pig has an early sexual maturity and high fertility and shows great adaptability in extreme environments. It is a multipurpose breed because it can be used for meat production, used in the Cantonese cuisine to prepare the broth, and for ham production.

This breed is able to consume and hold around 40-60 liters of water per day and has a generous amount of sarcoid fat, which gives a very particular flavor to the meat, with a sweet taste. Jinhua ham is internationally famous because of its attractive flavor and rosy color, and 3 million hams of this race are sold yearly worldwide.

Other native breeds

Among other indigenous breeds, some are associated with specific regional dishes, like Chenghua breed, suitable for the Sichuan twice-cooked pork, and others are very specific from one region or county, and can be used for cross-breeding, like Daweizi, Hang, Leping, Qingping and Rongchang breeds.

Future perspectives of Chinese Native Breeds

China ranks as the first country in the world for genetic diversity of farm animals and poultry. The scale of the local native or fatty pork market in China should not be underestimated, considering the position of the Jinhua breed and ham production. If there is a demand and profits, and consumers are open to pay a higher price for the native meat, pig farmers will reconsider their position regarding native breeding. In addition, maintenance of the genetic biodiversity of the country while achieving self-sufficient production goes through deep investment and research on genetics.