Bijie Cola Pig

Bijie Cola Pig

The Bijie Cola Pig is a geographical indication agricultural product.

　　    The Cola Pig is a specialty of Kele Township, Hezhang County, Bijie City, Guizhou Province. Also known as the Wujin Pig, the Cola Pig is a dual-purpose breed for both meat and lard. It has high-quality meat and is an excellent raw material for making cured ham and preserved pork, earning the saying “Xuanwei Ham, Cola Pig.”

　　    According to the Hezhang County Annals, “The county has a long history of animal husbandry. In 1977, Western Han Dynasty tombs unearthed in Kele contained the bones of cattle, horses, and pigs. In 1981, the Guizhou Provincial Museum discovered a bronze jar in a Western Han Dynasty tomb on Shichangpo at the Kele Pig Market, which held buried pig bones and chicken bones. These historical relics prove that animal husbandry in Hezhang dates back at least 2,000 years.” The Guizhou Provincial Livestock Breed Annals state, “Pig farming has a long history in this production area. In Kele Township, Hezhang County, a Western Han Dynasty-era pottery pigsty was unearthed, and in Qianxi County, pottery pigs from the Han Dynasty with distinct ‘three ridges’ on their snouts were also found. The Huayang Guo Zhi records that during the Han Dynasty, the ancestors of the Yi people ‘raised pigs here.’ The Guizhou Tongzhi documents that in Bijie, ‘agriculture was the main focus, supplemented by animal husbandry.’” All of these prove that the ancient region of Hezhang had a long history of pastoral pig farming. Due to the precious nature of this pig breed and its location by the Jinsha River in the Wumeng Mountain area, it is collectively referred to as the “Wujin Pig.” As a main branch of the Wujin Pig, the Cola Pig bears a strong resemblance to the “pottery pigs” unearthed in the Kele Town area of Hezhang County, hence its name.

　　    The Cola Pig is a well-known local pig breed in northwestern Guizhou, with Kele Township of Hezhang County, home to the Yi and Miao ethnic groups, serving as its core production area. As a major branch of the Wujin Pig, the Cola Pig is very similar to the “pottery pigs” unearthed in the Kele Township area of Hezhang County, which is the origin of its name.

　　    The Cola Pig is a free-range pig breed, adapted to cold, high-altitude climates and extensive feeding. It has a sturdy physique and well-developed hind legs. Its meat is of high quality, delicious, and tender, suitable for fresh consumption as well as being an excellent material for making cured ham and preserved pork. It can be used to make ham and cured meat, with the resulting products being prized both domestically and internationally for their bright color, fragrant taste, and long shelf life. For this reason, the Cola Pig has been listed in the National Swine Breed Resource Register as a nationally recognized superior local pig breed.

　　    As the main production area for the Cola Pig, Hezhang County has a long-standing tradition among its local people of making cured meat products from the Cola Pig. This provides a unique advantage in the development and utilization of the breed. Relying on its own capital and applying for fiscal funding, the RenDa Agricultural Comprehensive Development Co., Ltd. of Hezhang County established a Cola Pig farm with 200 breeding sows at the Shenjiagou Farm in Liuchi Town, Hezhang County. Since its establishment, the company has developed production techniques for high-quality Cola Pig cured meat products such as ham, cured pork, and sausages each year, and successfully applied for trademarks for its cured products, including “Cola Pig” and “AnYi.” These products have successfully entered specialty stores across the Bijie region and in Guiyang, enjoying high demand and selling out quickly.

　　    Geographical Scope

　　    The geographical protection area for the Bijie Cola Pig includes six counties (districts): Hezhang County, Weining County, Qixingguan District, Dafang County, Nayong County, and Jinsha County. The geographical coordinates are longitude 103°36′–106°43′ and latitude 26°25′–27°47′, covering a total area of 18,860 square kilometers. The breeding scale for the Bijie Cola Pig is 20,000 pigs.

　　    Product Quality Characteristics

　　    External Sensory Features: The coat of the Bijie Cola Pig is mostly black, with some exhibiting a brown hue. There are white hairs on the forehead, the tips of the limbs, and the tail end. The head is of moderate size, with a whorl on the forehead, a broad face with diamond-shaped wrinkles, medium-sized drooping ears, a slightly concave face, and a relatively straight, coarse snout, usually featuring three wrinkles. The body is somewhat narrow, with a flat back and straight waist, and a large, compact belly. The hindquarters are higher than the forequarters, with strong limbs, well-developed thighs and hips, solid hooves, and wrinkled skin on the hind legs. Meat color scores are normal, with moderately distributed marbling. Adult boars weigh around 73.3 kg, with a body length of 108.4 cm, a height of 62.2 cm, and a chest circumference of about 96.6 cm. Adult sows weigh approximately 74.95 kg, with a body length of 111.2 cm, a height of 61.2 cm, and a chest circumference of about 99.1 cm. The slaughter rate is 71.8%, the thigh and hip ratio is 25.22%, and the lean meat rate is about 43.18%. Internal Quality Indicators: The meat is delicious and has a delicate texture. It contains 21.0–22.0 g/100g of protein, 3.0–3.5 g/100g of glutamic acid, 0.08–0.12 g/100g of taurine, 1.6–2.1 g/100g of serine, 1.8–2.1 g/100g of asparagine, 1.0–1.4 g/100g of alanine, 1.1–1.4 g/100g of arginine, 0.6–1.0 g/100g of tyrosine, 1.0–1.4 g/100g of alanine, 33.0–35.0 mg/kg of calcium, 12.0–16.0 mg/kg of iron, and 215.0–225.0 mg/kg of magnesium.