We started our first
morning in Xi'an with a buffet style breakfast.
We were surprised to see the waffle fries. After breakfast we headed out to load the
buses. The first thing we noticed about
the city was that there was no humidity! It felt great to just stand outside and enjoy
the weather. We also noticed on our
first bus ride that there was much more grass and trees in Xi'an than any other
areas that we have visited. The traffic
was also a lot more bearable than the other cities we have visited. We were able to see many greenhouses, both
new style like we are used to, and old Chinese style greenhouses that were
covered in mud.
Our first stop for
the morning was at a Purina feed mill that services 100 swine operations of
various sizes, the largest being 1,000 feeder pigs. They deliver up to a 120 mile radius. The main ingredients they use are locally
produced soybean meal and corn. They
have a fully automated system that mixes those two ingredients to the desired
level. After that have their batch
started it goes to another system that adds the trace vitamins and
minerals. They have to import fish meal
and DDGS. Thirty percent of their
products are put into pellet form and all of it is bagged into roughly 88 pound
bags. We were able to tour the mill and
see their bagged feed and storage, as well as the main computer station and
mill tower.
Our second stop for
today was at the Kingbull cattle feedlot. This feedlot housed roughly 10,000
head of cattle. They have the capacity to hold 300,000 head total with all of
their different operations. The cattle
were hybrid species of Wagyu and Angus bull and Qinchuan cows. The cattle are fed out to 1760 pounds which takes
around 26-28 months. Once finished they
are sent to Kingbull Baoji, a plant that slaughters only for Kingbull. Once the meat is process it is barcoded to
ensure quality and sent to almost all of China.
The meat is highly sought after due to its high quality and meat
marbling. The most costly cut of meat is
the Loin Striploin, which can cost up to $600/lb if it has good marbling. We were all quite shocked by the cost of this
cut of meat! We were also very happy to
see cattle and feel a little more at home in a place so far away. We were all able to pick out small differences
between our operations at home and the Kingbull, the biggest being that they exercise
there bulls on a hot walker to keep them in shape and healthy.
Our last stop before
lunch was to another local feedlot. This
feedlot housed 800 cow/calf pairs. They were
all a local breed of cow. They are all
on different gestational stages because there are no breeding seasons in
China. The winters are mild here, so
they don't have to worry about losing calves in the winter months. The calves are much smaller than those born
in the United States with a birth weight of 30 pounds. They are weaned at 3 months of age. We were also able to see their silage pile
and manure compost. Their corn stalks
are brought to the farm whole and are chopped and packed there. A machine is used to help compost the
manure. It circulates the manure based
off of temperate. It takes two weeks for
the manure to be composted and then it is sold and used for fertilizer. We were all excited to be able to smell the
cattle, feed and manure. That may sound
strange, but the cities here are definitely different than what we are used to!
For our lunch break
we stopped at the Northwest Ag & Forestry University. The lunch setting was
buffet style and allowed us to try one of the many famous noodles to come out
of Xi'an. Following lunch we took a brief tour around campus.
After lunch we all
got in some exercise as we took a bike tour of the City Wall. The City Wall was built 700 years ago during
the Ming Dynasty. There are still many
original bricks inscribed with the names of the people who helped build
it. The Wall is a square that is 8.5
miles in length. Many of us rode tandem
bikes for the first time and all had fun as we biked around and seen the
city. It was quite a warm trek, but most
of us really enjoyed it and got lots of laughs with each other and entertained
many locals. There were many people that
said hi to us and took our pictures, something we haven't gotten used to yet!
Following the City
Wall tour we went to dinner and a show at the Shaanxi Grand Opera House. We tasted 20 different dumplings, a Xi'an
specialty. There were many different
kinds, ranging from mushroom to shrimp.
Some of our favorites were the spicy mushroom and the pork. Following dinner we were all surprised to the
sound of birthday music, it is Tyler DeRouchey's birthday tomorrow and the restaurant
brought out a cake and played music. His
candle was quite exciting because as it burned it opened up into a large flower
all lit up. We all enjoyed his cake before
the performance. The performance
consisted of 10 acts of music and dance that were originally performed during
the Tang Dynasty. Their costumes were
very elaborate and eye catching. The
music resembled their heritage, using a variety of instruments and sounds that
we are unfamiliar with. We all had fun
listening to the different kinds of music and watching their beautiful dances.
We were very busy
today and are all ready for bed! We are
looking forward to another great day in Xi'an tomorrow!
Jade Kampsen &
Hayden Feist
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