The opening ceremony held in Baotou attracts guests and media. [Photo/Baotou news network]

At booths outside the venue, businesses sell their sheep products via live stream. [Photo/Baotou news network]

The 18th China Sheep Industry Development Conference was held as scheduled in Baotou on Aug 15. More than 500 guests including experts and scholars from all over the country, representatives of industry leading enterprises and practitioners attended the event to draw a blueprint for the development of the sheep industry.

"China's experience and technology in house feeding are at the forefront of the world. There are no experiences or countries to learn from. We need to overcome a series of problems such as sheep pen design and forage development ourselves," Tian Kechuan, president of the Sheep Branch of China Animal Husbandry Association, said.

"This requires a combination of entrepreneurs' practices and experts' research to promote industrial development. This event provides a good platform for communication," Tian added.

In recent years, Baotou has played an important role in the promotion of mutton brands and has cultivated a new breed of "Gobi Short-tailed Sheep" that has been certified by the State, which has played an important role in creating a local mutton brand.

"Holding the event can not only promote Baotou, but also provide ideas and approaches for the development of the local sheep industry in terms of breeding selection, breeding management, deep processing, and brand building," said Wang Yongguang, chief of the animal husbandry division of the Baotou agriculture and pastoral bureau.