Lingwu Mountain Grass-fed Sheep

Lingwu Mountain Grass-fed Sheep

Lingwu Mountain Grass-fed Sheep is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Lingwu Mountain Grass-fed Sheep is a specialty of Lingwu City, Yinchuan, Ningxia.

　　 Lingwu Mountain Grass-fed Sheep has a history of more than two hundred years. As early as the Qing Dynasty, it was most famous for its hides and wool, which were exported to Europe. The "Yinchuan Gazetteer," compiled in the 20th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1755), states: “All prefectures in Ningxia produce sheepskin, but those from Lingzhou yield long-haired wheat-ear varieties, and fox furs are also commonly found.” “Wheat-ear” was the term used at the time to describe the wool tufts of the mountain grass-fed sheep.

　　 Sheep have a long history of existence in Lingwu. Artifacts unearthed by archaeologists, including primitive sheep fossils discovered in Majiatan Town of Lingwu, prove that as early as six million years ago, this area was dotted with lakes, crisscrossed by rivers, and covered with lush vegetation — an environment where primitive sheep, similar in size to modern goats, thrived.

　　 In 1923, French paleontologists Teilhard de Chardin and Émile Licent discovered a Late Paleolithic site in the Shuidonggou area, along with fossils of animals such as Przewalski’s gazelle, wild ass, and woolly rhinoceros. Among the numerous stone tools excavated were scrapers used for cutting animal flesh or hides, pointed tools used as spears or javelins during hunting, as well as serrated blades, thick-backed stone knives, and side scrapers. This indicates that as early as 30,000 years ago, ancient humans lived here by the water, leading a primitive life of drilling wood for fire and dwelling in caves.

　　 Evidence from the Neolithic site at Sandaogou in Linhe, where a large number of polished stone knives and axes were found, shows that the primitive inhabitants living along the Yellow River gradually transitioned from a hunting lifestyle to domesticating goats — animals well-suited to harsh living conditions and abundant in food supply — and embarked on a pastoral, nomadic way of life. The ancestors crafted daily tools such as awls, hairpins, forks, and needles from the bones of livestock like cattle and sheep.

　　 The rock paintings discovered in the Erdong area of Linhe vividly depict scenes from the lives of northern primitive nomadic tribes, such as herding. Animals like horses, cattle, and sheep had become the main domesticated species. For instance, in a painting titled “Two Sheep,” there are two large, similarly shaped mountain goats with long, curved horns and straight hindquarters. This indicates that thousands of years ago, the area around Erdonggou was rich in water and grass, covered with dense forests, where primitive goats and antelopes thrived.

　　 In an era when nature was revered or even worshipped, sheep were regarded as messengers between humans and the heavens, becoming sacred in religious contexts. During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, various tribes such as the Qiang, Xianyun, and Xirong successively inhabited the Lingwu region. The "Shuowen Jiezi" states: “The Qiang are shepherd people of the western Rong; the character is formed from ‘person’ and ‘sheep,’ with ‘sheep’ also providing the phonetic element.” Various sacrificial ceremonies at the time could not be conducted without the “three sacrificial animals”: cattle, sheep, and pigs. In tombs from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods excavated in Linhe, the heads and hooves of domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep, and horses were often used as burial objects, with some graves containing as many as 70 or more sheep skulls, indicating that sheep had become a prevalent sacrificial offering. During the Han Dynasty, the livestock industry in the Lingzhou area flourished rapidly, with horses and sheep covering the plains. By the time of Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, cattle and sheep were countless. The Northern Dynasties folk song “Chilege” describes the magnificent and fertile grasslands of the northwest with the line, “Heaven is vast, the wilderness boundless; with wind blowing the grass low, cattle and sheep appear.” During the Sui Dynasty, pastures for horses and sheep in Lingzhou had already reached considerable scale. In the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, this area successively became a homeland and grazing ground for nomadic and hunting activities of northern ethnic minorities such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turks, Uyghurs, Tibetans, Tanguts, and Tatars. During the Ming Dynasty, Qingshuiying developed into a major livestock trading market, bustling with the sounds of horses and donkeys on market days, and herds of cattle and sheep. In the Qing Dynasty, Hengcheng revived the market practice of “trading once every ten days,” with large quantities of livestock, hides, wool, and grain being shipped out from the ancient Hengcheng ferry. The hides of Lingwu Mountain Grass-fed Sheep were exported all the way to Europe, standing out uniquely in China’s fur industry and enjoying a long-standing reputation.

　　 Before liberation, intermediary agents known as “ya zi,” who earned commissions through the practice of “tou maque” (a form of livestock trade mediation), and craftsmen who made felt from sheep wool emerged one after another. Some leather craftsmen made and sold sheepskin socks from leftover materials, which became popular among the people. Women spun wool into yarn and knitted it into warm socks for winter. In the 1970s, taking advantage of its local specialties of sheepskin and wool, Lingwu successively established wool textile enterprises such as a fur factory, a yarn factory, and a blanket factory. Products like “Jacquard” blankets, “Yellow Crane Brand” and “Parrot Brand” yarns were once bestsellers nationwide.

　　Lingwu Mountain Grass-fed Sheep

　　 Lingwu City Animal Husbandry Technology Extension Service Center

　　 7497621

　　 Lamb meat