Quick Take
Operating a 26-story facility requires managing a population of 650,000 animals annually.
The structure’s vertical scale allows more pigs to be bred at once than a typical farm.
Traditional horizontal farming models in China are being abandoned in favor of this high-rise industrial approach.
Developers prioritized urban proximity during the site selection process to solve logistics issues.
In 2018, the African swine fever swept through China. It resulted in the loss of approximately 10 million pigs, leading to a significant decline in meat production. The country felt the effects of this for years, until a new farming idea was introduced: vertical pig farms.
From the outside, these corporate-looking buildings appear to be regular businesses. On the inside, visitors would find something entirely different. Instead of desks and computers, millions of pigs live on each floor. They’re raised for slaughter, with one farm capable of processing 1.2 million pigs per year. This raises questions from the watching world: Is it sustainable? Is it safe? And, most importantly, is it even ethical?
From a national swine crisis to industrial towers: how China is reinventing the food chain with 26-story ‘Hog Hotels’ that house over half a million animals. © A-Z Animals
How Do China’s Vertical Pig Farms Work?
In theory, the idea of a vertical farm with each floor catering to a specific number of animals seems extraordinary. Aside from saving room, it also keeps everything in one confined, controlled space. The first vertical pig farm, or pig skyscraper, as they’re often called, was built in 2022. At the time, it was hailed as a revolutionary move in Ezhou, in eastern Hubei Province. The first building was 26 stories high, with enough space for more than one million pigs.
Fattening pigs are feeding on large swine farms.
A 26-story hog hotel can contain more than one million pigs.
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On each floor are rows of individual pens, each holding one pig. These pens sit side by side from one side of the room to the other, as far as the eye can see across each story. This is where the pig farms eventually got the name “hog hotel,” specifically the one in Yaji Mountain Forest Park in Guangxi. Initially, the sight was concerning to locals, who noted the pigs barely had room to spread out. The pens themselves almost seem too small for adult pigs, whose sides touch both sides of their metal walls.
According to an article by The U.S. Sun, Jin Lin, the pig farm’s general manager, reported the space is 390,000 square meters, or roughly 4,197,925 square feet. To reach each floor, the pigs are lifted by an industrial lift and led into their individual pens. They’re used for both meat and manure, with each floor dedicated to piglets, pregnant sows, and mature pigs ready for slaughter. A conveyor belt moves feed through each pig’s pen, and they’re monitored via CCTV daily. One employee is responsible for approximately 1,500 pigs, which are bathed and fed daily by one of the farm’s 800 staff members, according to Lin.
What Are the Ethical Issues Surrounding Vertical Pig Farms?
According to Compassion in World Farming, as of 2025, there were as many as 170 multi-story pig farms in Guangdong province alone, with thousands more across China. The government subsidized these farms and, at the time, had no intention of slowing construction of more. With the largest facility capable of slaughtering up to 1.2 million pigs annually, the question arises: are the farm’s conditions humane or inhumane?
One point of contention with animal rights activists and organizations is cramped living spaces and confinement on each floor. With little room to move within their pens, the pigs are unable to stretch, walk around, or change position. This leads to stress among the animals, triggering a chain reaction across an entire floor of pigs. It also causes health issues, such as soreness, muscle fatigue, boredom, frustration, and weak muscles. With no room for bedding, the pigs have no means of lying down, further contributing to inhumane living conditions.
Curious pigs in Pig Breeding farm in swine business in tidy and clean indoor housing farm, with pig mother feeding piglet
Vertical pig farms carry ethical concerns.
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The manner in which these farms transport pigs is also a major concern. Elevators are used to move pigs between floors, increasing the risk of disease transmission. Given that the pigs are already kept in close, cramped conditions, viruses and bacteria can easily move from one animal to another. As each pig enters the elevator, they can potentially spread microbes to an entire floor. The infections that result from this could be catastrophic, leading to significant loss of life and profit. Compassion in World Farming also notes that power outages can cause spoilage and hazardous conditions.
The Long-Term Benefits of Vertical Pig Farming in China
According to some experts, the benefits of vertical farming could change the agricultural landscape. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Zhuge Wenda, chairman of Hubei Zhongxin Kaiwei Modern Husbandry, says its vertical nature makes pig farming cleaner. Unlike pigs living in confined outdoor spaces, those living indoors are moved to various areas for different activities. This prevents them from defecating where they eat, sleeping where they play, and so on. In the interview, Zhuge claimed that pigs are inherently clean, making their environment the issue.
It was also noted that vertical farming reduces land and labor costs. Since pig pens are built upward, there’s no need to expand outward. Labor costs can be reduced in vertical pig farms due to automation and efficient design. However, these facilities still require significant staffing and operational expenses. While staffing each vertical farm incurs costs, issues such as hauling feed, maintaining the grounds, or repairing wood or wire fencing and barns are minimized.
The Future of China’s Vertical Pig Farms
In another interview with the New York Times in 2023, Zhuge stated that the country’s pig breeding is still decades behind that of many others. This is where the push for vertical farming comes in, and why more hog hotels are being planned in the future. He also added that breeding and farming pig meat this way allows farms to improve their quality, leading to fewer low-quality pig products. Experts hope that the increase in pig farming will help China move closer to becoming a genuinely self-sufficient country in terms of pig breeding, though full self-sufficiency has not yet been achieved.
Portrait of cute breeder pig with dirty snout, Close-up of Pig's snout.Big pig on a farm in a pigsty, young big domestic pig in stable
Factory farms carry disease risks.
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However, other experts aren’t so certain this is the answer. Some are still concerned about its potentially inhumane conditions, and not only when it comes to pigs. The transmission of viruses and bacteria from pigs to humans is marginally easier in crowded conditions such as these. One researcher, Dr. Justine Butler, expressed concern that these factory-type farms are a perfect storm for animal-to-human disease transmission.
The combination of overcrowding, unhealthy animals, and general stress causes low immunity. It’s a proven fact that pigs are highly intelligent and can sense stress from others. In close quarters such as these vertical farms, this causes a ripple effect from one animal to the next. On floors where pigs are slaughtered, it is reasonable to presume that any living pigs can sense this and will be in severe distress. This leads to low immunity, which causes gastrointestinal and respiratory issues, and can also hinder growth rates for pregnant or juvenile pigs.
How Vertical Pig Farms Affect Communities Around Them
Vertical pig farms have significant consequences for both those living nearby and those working inside. In an article published by Le Monde in 2025, locals in Hongqiao village spoke out. While the village itself is far from wealthy, 100-story pig farms still loom in the background above it. The eerie scene contrasts greatly with the rundown village, and those who live there claim it’s not as impressive as it seems.
piglet
Hog hotels negatively impact human health, too.
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Many complain about the stench, which often wafts down from the tall buildings and into the village. Dust and debris sometimes float down from the farms, covering the town in a grayish layer. Some told Le Monde that anyone with enough money had already moved into the city, far from the newly constructed vertical farm. Its health effects on neighboring villages have not been studied. However, for the people who live below, hog hotels are not only an eyesore, but a negative impact on their quality of life. As for the pigs, the conditions they will face in the future remain to be seen as more vertical farms are constructed.