Chenguang Dairy aims to provide GBA with the best milk products

Milk is packaged at Chenguang's dairy factory. Photos by Lin Songtao

On a scorching hot summer afternoon, the sun was up high, and the heat can be felt in a 60,000-square-meter pasture in the northern tip of Shenzhen.

Yet walking close to the sprawling home of over 1,000 cows at Xinpitou Pasture, one would feel cool and at ease.

With electric fans blowing cold air and water pipes drizzling around, the black-and-white cows stood leisurely at their stalls, enjoying their meals.

Xinpitou is the only dairy farm in Shenzhen, producing over 8,000 tons of milk annually. Compared to the city’s fast pace, this is a slow world. Workers, with some working in the pasture for decades, feed the cows, massage them, milk them, clean them and make sure they are healthy and happy.

Every cow wears a collar that monitors its health. In case of any abnormality, it will be reported to veterinarians, who will deal with the situation immediately.

Cows live in a good environment at the pasture.

“Food safety is of utmost importance to us,” said Li Yintao, managing director of Shenzhen Chenguang Dairy Co. Ltd. “The most important part to ensure the safety of dairy is at the beginning — the health of cows,” he said.

“Therefore, we feed them with best clovers and drinking water high above national hygienic standards,” Li said, adding that humans can directly drink the water provided to cows here.

“You know, like humans, cows have moods. If they live in a good environment, they will be healthier and happier,” he said.

Milk from the pasture will be sent to Chenguang’s dairy factory only 8 kilometers away, where it will be pasteurized, fermented, packaged and become the familiar dairy products on Shenzheners’ dining table: Chenguang Fresh Milk, Gong Gang Yi Hao (Fresh Milk) and various yogurt products.

Chenguang Dairy may not be the biggest dairy brand on the Chinese mainland, but it has served Shenzheners for over 40 years, making it the residents’ No. 1 choice. Chenguang provides over half of the students’ milk in Shenzhen.

In 2011, Chenguang was the sole dairy provider when Shenzhen hosted the Summer Universiade, and it has also been Hong Kong dairy market’s long-time supplier. In 1995, the Development Research Center of the State Council named the company “the largest milk exporter in China.”

Chenguang always adheres to its high-quality standards. Despite the melamine scandal, which hit the mainland dairy industry hard in 2008, Chenguang was barely affected. Its latest fresh milk product was named “Gong Gang Yi Hao” (No. 1 supply to Hong Kong) to indicate abiding by top food safety standards. As Shenzhen continues its urbanization, the company has opened more pastures in neighboring cities.

“If you want fresh and healthy milk, try Chenguang. We are striving to become a leading dairy company in China and provide the best-quality low-temperature dairy products for residents in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and South China,” Li said.