Gansu Alpine Finewool

The Gansu Alpine Finewool was one of a number of finewool breeds in China which made use of Xinjiang Finewool, along with Russian Merino rams in its development. The Gansu Alpine Finewool was initially based on Mongolian and Tibetan ewes and was developed through backcrossing to Merino type, followed by selection.

The breed was developed in the Huangchen District of Gansu Province, China, which has an altitude of 2,600 to 4,000 m (8,530-13,123 ft), an annual mean temperature of 0 to 3.8°C (32-39°F), an annual precipitation of 257 to 461 mm, and an average humidity of 35 to 58 percent. The sheep are well adapted to this particular ecological condition. The average weight of grease fleece in ewes is about 4.6 kg (10.1 lbs), and the wool quality is 60-64's (20-25µm).

Breed categories: fine-wool / Distribution: China