Staff select laying hens from chicks at Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Industry Co Ltd in Pinggu district, Beijing, on April 12.

Wu Guiqin stores the genomic DNA of chickens from core breeding groups for genomic selection preparation at the lab of Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Industry Co Ltd on April 12.

Technicians vaccinate newly hatched breeding chickens at Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Industry Co Ltd on April 12.

The egg storage facility at Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Industry Co Ltd on April 12.

Staff pack vaccinated breeding chickens at Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Industry Co Ltd on April 12.

Visitors explore the China laying hen big data center of Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Industry Co Ltd on April 12.

Eggs are inspected on the 19th day of incubation at Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Industry Co Ltd on April 12.

Wu Guiqin tests the strength of eggshells at Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Industry Co Ltd on April 12.

With 10,200 sets of Jing-series laying hens being exported to Tanzania on March 17, China continues its livestock and poultry contribution to the Belt and Road Initiative.

The first Jing-series egg laid in Tanzania on Oct 11, 2023 marked the beginning of improved poultry breeds from China helping with Tanzania's egg industry.

Though China has been raising chickens for thousands of years, the country has only achieved "egg freedom" in recent decades, with domestic laying hens becoming independent of imports for just over one decade.

The rapid progress in agricultural technology led to the self-sufficiency of China's egg production. Playing a crucial role in the development is Wu Guiqin, chief expert of major national agricultural science and technology projects and director of the poultry research institute at Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Industry Co Ltd in Beijing. Wu and her team spent over 20 years in poultry breeding and technological advancements, paving the way for China's poultry industry.

Wu Guiqin has been deeply involved in frontline scientific research and independent innovation in poultry breeding, with numerous original achievements in poultry breeding applied to industrial practices. Wu's team has established a commercial breeding technology system centered on genomic technology and supported by information technology. The system has been widely used in developing new breeds of laying and broiler chickens, resulting in five high-yield layer lines and three white-feather broiler lines, significantly contributing to China's self-reliance and control over poultry breeding technology.

The five breeds of Jing-series layers — Jinghong 1, Jingfen 1, Jingfen 2, Jingbai 1, and Jingfen 6 — cover all egg colors, weights, and feather colors. With a total of 7.8 billion layers going into the market, the Jing-series breeds cover a domestic market share of 60 percent.

Jingfen 6, born in 2019, was a milestone in China's egg-laying hens supply transition from import constraints to independent supply. Jingfen 6 is a China-created unique breed and the top choice for large-scale farming and branded egg companies. With Jingfen 6, China realized the international breeding goal of 500 eggs in 700 days, marking China's leap to a leading place in the global layer breeding industry.

Today, one in every 10 breeding eggs worldwide comes from Beijing. For every two eggs consumed by Chinese people, one comes from a Yukou layer in Pinggu. "By 2030, Yukou layers will represent the world's best laying hens," says Wu Guiqin.