Zaobei
周佩牛
(most common name)

(local/other name):
• Chou-pei (Wade–Giles)
• Chowpei
• Dschau-bei (German)
• Zhou Pei Niu

The Zaobei is an authentic South Chinese Yellow breed that originated in the northern part of Zaoyang county in Hubei province (near the boundary with Henan). They are medium to large in size and used for their strong draught power, being able to pull up to 90% of their body weight.

The Zaobei resembles a small type of Nanyang and microsatellite studies suggest they are quite close (their ranges are adjacent); taurine and zebu mtDNA lineages are present in both breeds.

The Zaobei is described as:
• red, brown or yellow coat
• fine hairs on their coat
• thin skin
• short thick horns
• well developed muscles
• bulls have short thick necks and well developed humps
• cows are slender-necked with well developed udders

This page was last updated on: 2023-06-07

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