China has opened a colossal pig slaughter facility that resembles a residential block from the outside but functions as a modern meat production complex on the outskirts of Ezhou city in Hubei province. The building rises with 26 floors and operates as a high-capacity meat facility, capable of processing a substantial number of pigs every year. Production began last October as part of the country’s effort to meet strong demand for pork, the nation’s most consumed animal protein.
The facility is owned by Zhongxin Kaiwei, a company new to pig farming and livestock operations. It seeks to leverage China’s huge appetite for pork and began as a cement investor with multiple factories in Hubei and Henan. One neighboring cement plant, Hubei Xinshiji Cement, sits right beside the pig operation, illustrating the mixed industrial footprint of this enterprise.
The company originally planned to invest in ready-to-cook food production but shifted focus after shifts in China’s cement and construction sectors. Jin Lin, the managing director, told The Guardian that modern agriculture represents a promising avenue for growth and that the company intends to use its own building materials to support the pig farm’s construction.
Official statements from Zhongxin Kaiwei indicate the pig farm comprises two buildings of similar size, with another structure behind the operational area nearing completion. Once fully functional, the site will offer a unified space spanning 800,000 square meters and an estimated capacity for 650,000 animals.
The four-billion-yuan facility is equipped with controlled gas, temperature, and ventilation systems. It uses more than 30,000 automated feeding points managed from a central control room to feed the pigs at the press of a button. Waste management plans include transforming pig waste into biogas to generate electricity and heat for use within the farm, reducing external energy needs.
Entry for workers involves multiple disinfections and routine testing, and staff are reportedly not allowed to leave the facility during work cycles, with breaks scheduled at least weekly. Local villagers have raised concerns about potential odor as the operation scales up toward full capacity.
The project has drawn attention as it aligns with broader moves in Chinese agriculture toward larger, automated operations. In a policy issued in 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs signaled openness to high-altitude cultivation facilities, a development that investors like Kingkey Smart Farming see as more efficient, biosafe, and environmentally friendly. Experts note that automated high-density farming can boost biosecurity while delivering strong production gains, particularly in the wake of animal disease pressures such as African swine fever.
In Sichuan province, planners and developers have proposed or built 64 multi-storey pig facilities as of 2020, reflecting a trend toward smart, automated farming that demands higher standards from operators in the industry. Zhu Zengyong of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences remarked that the pig farming sector has clearly moved toward more automated and intelligent methods, a shift driven by disease pressures and the push for efficiency.
Experts caution that while large-scale factory farms can reduce direct interactions between domestic and wild animals, they also pose risks. Some researchers warn that a disease entering a dense facility could spread rapidly, challenging disease control measures. Those concerns echo debates about biosecurity, efficiency, and sustainability in both Asia and North America. Specialists point to higher animal density as a factor in the potential spread and mutation of pathogens, underscoring the need for vigilant oversight across the sector.
The environmental department has issued contact information for further inquiries regarding regulatory oversight, though inquiries in this rewrite omit direct contact details in keeping with updated publication standards.