Chinese Black and White
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Other names |
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| Country of origin | China |
| Distribution | nation-wide |
| Use | dairy |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
|
| Height |
|
| Coat | pied, black-and-white |
| |
The Chinese Holstein,[4] formerly known as Chinese Black and White[2] or Chinese Black Pied[5]: 40 is a Chinese breed of dairy cattle. It derives from cross-breeding with local cows of black-and-white dairy cattle of various breeds imported since the 1870s from Canada, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is the most numerous dairy breed in China and is distributed throughout the country.[3]: 63
History
Black-and-white dairy cattle were imported to major cities in China in the 1870s from Canada, Germany, Japan, the UK and the USA. After the Second World War large American Holstein-Friesians were imported, as was smaller Dutch Black Pied stock from the Netherlands. These at first gave rise to larger and smaller types within the Chinese breed, but these can no longer be distinguished.[3]: 63 A supervisory body, the Coordinating Group of Breeding Chinese Black and White Dairy Cattle, was set up in 1979 by the Ministry of Agriculture, and a herd-book was established in 1983; this records all pedigree cattle.[6]: 476 [2] In 1983 there were approximately 572500 head;[6]: 476 in 2011 it was estimated that about 80% of all dairy cattle in China – or 11.5 million of a total of about 14.4 million – were of this breed.[7]: 156
In 1985, the breed was approved and named as "the black and white dairy cattle of China", which name was used in the national standard GB/T 3157-82.They were renamed "Chinese Holstein" in 1992.[4]
Use
In 1982 the average milk yield of 270000 cows was found to be 4461 kg (9835 lb) per lactation of 305 days. The highest recorded individual yield in one lactation was 16090 kg in 305 days, and the lifetime record was 100897 kg in 10 lactations totalling 3721 days.[3]: 65
The milk averages 3.3% fat in the southern part of the country, and 3.4% in the north.[3]: 65
References
- ^ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b c Breed data sheet: Chinese Black and White / China (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed November 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Cheng Peilieu (Zheng Piliu) (1984). Livestock Breeds of China. FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 46. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9251021856. p. 63–65.
- ^ a b "GB/T 3157-2023 中国荷斯坦牛 Chinese Holstein". 国家标准全文公开系统. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
- ^ Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2002). Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types, and Varieties (fifth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 085199430X.
- ^ a b Marleen Felius (2025). Cattle Breeds: An Encyclopedia. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004449015.
- ^ Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.