(Ecns.cn)--Beef usually costs about 28 yuan ($4.3) per kilogram, but at one stall in a Chongqing supermarket a kilogram of beef sells for 90 yuan ($14). The supplier is the Chongqing Hengdu Foods Development Corporation, which engages in an upmarket beef business where the cows are treated better than some humans.
According to Hengdu's marketing manager Bo Xiaoli, this is not the most expensive beef available from the company, some of which sells for over 400 yuan ($61.8) per kilogram.
Bo said the beef comes from cattle raised according to a whole industry chain model that makes it worth the price.
Hengdu's cattle farm, the largest of its kind in China, can accommodate 15,000 head of cattle at a time. The farm houses its animals in barns specially designed to ensure a comfortable environment.
Every afternoon before sunset, the farm even plays light music for the cattle. In addition, the farm is now investing more than 2 million yuan to install advanced massagers. The massagers would be activated automatically as cows lean against a fence, stimulating their blood circulation, speeding up growth and reducing the occurrence of skin diseases.
Hengdu's cattle also receive special diets. Apart from fresh pasture grazing, their feed also contains vintage wine such as Wuliangye and Luzhou Laojiao.
Before being slaughtered, each of the cattle is starved for 12 hours in order to discharge urine and excrement from the body. After being put down in a "humane" fashion, the beef is hung up for 24 to 72 hours to remove acid.
