From October 20-22, by the banks of Shanghai's Huangpu River, the 2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Conference returns. Nobel and Turing Award winners will take the stage to discuss the future and trends of technology, and there will also be a live dialogue between网红 professors Ian Macfarlane and Xiang Biao, who are known for 鈥渞elieving鈥?anxiety in an era of involution. Spaces are limited, so act fast. Let us join together for this sustainable appointment. [Click to register]
On the eve of the 46th World Food Day, an interview tour titled 鈥淓ntering New State-Owned Enterprises 鈥?Decoding the National Industrial Code鈥?arrived in Tangshan and Qinhuangdao, Hebei. From October 13 to 15, reporters visited several directly affiliated depots of Sinograin. After the whole trip, the aim was to understand one thing: what exactly keeps the rice bowl of the Chinese people secure? The people are the foundation of the nation, and grain is the people's lifeblood. The answer is not in slogans, but in the journey of a single grain.
The first stop was Yutian. The Sinograin Yutian Directly Affiliated Depot was built in 1949, the same age as the republic. It started with 72 warehouses converted from an old pawnshop. The first Party branch secretary, Hao Haifeng, led a dozen workers to begin. With no equipment, they moved stones and shoveled river sand with bare hands. With no tools, they figured out how to make their own. Generations of grain depot workers relied on self-reliance and hard work to protect the nation's grain foundation under crude conditions. In 1956, all 72 warehouses met the standard. Free of insects, mold, rodents, and accidents 鈥?the Yutian Directly Affiliated Depot created the country's first 鈥淔our Nos Grain Depot.鈥?The Ministry of Grain awarded it as a red banner on the national grain front. In the history exhibition hall, old photos have yellowed. Ten words on the wall stand out: 鈥淣ing liu qian di han, bu huai yi li liang鈥?鈥?I would rather shed a thousand drops of sweat than let a single grain spoil. As times changed, that spirit has not. Inside the grain depot, the slogan 鈥淣ing liu qian di han, bu huai yi li liang鈥?is prominently displayed. Photo by Zhu Malie
In the newly built area of the Yutian Directly Affiliated Depot, the scene is different. In the laboratory of the one-stop service center, various testing instruments are lined up. The squat silos and the nitrogen generator room are the main players here. Nitrogen is injected into sealed warehouses; when nitrogen is abundant, grain oxidation slows and spoilage is less likely. If the nitrogen concentration is raised further and maintained for a period, insect eggs cannot survive, achieving grain preservation. This is called nitrogen-controlled atmosphere grain storage, green and safe. On a central control screen far away in Beijing, temperature and humidity data inside the warehouses jump in real time. Every movement of grain depots thousands of miles away converges on this one screen. The traditional management method of relying on people to patrol warehouses and experience to protect grain is becoming history.
The second stop was Qinhuangdao. The Haigang branch of the Sinograin Qinhuangdao Directly Affiliated Depot faces the port. Standing on the viewing platform and looking into the distance, the dock is directly connected to the grain warehouses. Grain ships dock to unload grain. The grain does not touch the ground and is sent directly into the silos. A panoramic sand table outlines the layout of the depot area, and the digital intelligent intensive control center is the 鈥渂rain鈥?of the entire depot. The intelligent sampling and inspection system automatically completes sampling and testing. The whole process is closed, data is traceable, and the objectivity and fairness of test results are guaranteed. Rows of scientific grain storage equipment stand guard day and night. Such port grain warehouses are both hubs of grain circulation and 鈥渂allast stones鈥?for reserves. View of the port dock from the viewing platform. Photo by Zhu Malie
The final stop was Tangshan. The Sinograin Tangshan Directly Affiliated Depot is located in the Tangshan Haigang Economic Development Zone, 500 meters from the Tangshan Port dock. The depot's history room records the inheritance of generations of Sinograin workers. The An Zhiming Innovation Studio is an innovation base for frontline grain storage technicians. From small technical renovation inventions to new grain storage techniques, the ideas from the grassroots are gradually put into the grain warehouses. The central control room and inspection room are fully equipped. Warehousing, storage, and outbound operations are fully digitalized. The most striking is Red Flag Warehouse No. 815. Huge silos rise from the ground. Heavy grain is stored quietly inside. Beneath the silence lies a complete set of intelligent grain protection equipment for ventilation, temperature measurement, and controlled atmosphere. The grain pile is breathing, and data is flowing. Large capacity, high efficiency, green and low consumption. This is the current construction level of modern reserve grain warehouses in China.
From the self-reliance of the 鈥淔our Nos Grain Depot鈥?to green grain storage and intelligent management 鈥?what has changed is grain storage technology and warehouse facilities. What has not changed is the drive to 鈥渟tore grain for the nation.鈥?Today's major-country granaries are no longer simply houses for piling grain. They have four layers: an excellent work style passed down from generation to generation, independently controllable core technologies, a circulation network connecting land and water, and a dedicated iron army of grain storage workers. Without any one layer, it would not count as stable. Being able to grow grain is ability. Being able to store it is skill. Guarding it is responsibility. Not wasting it is conscience.
Pulling our view away from the land of Yan and Zhao, the heavy risks in the global food landscape become clearly visible. A 2026 report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and other agencies shows that about 645 million people experienced hunger in 2025. The United Nations has repeatedly warned that conflict remains the primary cause of severe global food insecurity. The Black Sea route is blocked, and passage through the Strait of Hormuz is under pressure. El Nino stirs the global climate, with droughts and floods alternating in many places, severely damaging production in major grain-producing areas. Global fertilizer prices have risen sharply, and shipping freight rates have soared at the same time. Some major grain-exporting countries have tightened export controls, and grain trade protectionism continues to rise. The International Grains Council predicts that global grain trade volume in 2026/27 may shrink, and carryover stocks may fall to 610 million tons. When grain becomes a bargaining chip in geopolitical games, grain prices can become a weapon in those games. If one's rice bowl is held in someone else's hands, the nation's security lifeline is exposed.
In the 1990s, the world once asked: who will feed China? China's answer is written on its own land. With less than 9% of the world's arable land and 6% of its freshwater resources, China feeds nearly 20% of the world's population. In 2024, grain output exceeded 1.4 trillion jin for the first time. Per capita grain availability is about 500 kilograms, higher than the internationally recognized safety line of 400 kilograms. The red line of 1.8 billion mu of arable land has been maintained, and more than 1 billion mu of high-standard farmland has been built cumulatively. The self-sufficiency rate for staple grains is above 100%, and the self-sufficiency rate for cereals is above 95%. The logic is clear: rely mainly on ourselves, base ourselves domestically, ensure production capacity, import appropriately, and support with science and technology. This is not closure, but self-reliance. It is about keeping the initiative in our own hands under open conditions.
Looking at China in the opening year, food security concerns the foundation of a major country. For a large country with more than 1.4 billion people, this is not an economic issue but a political issue; not a tactical issue but a strategic issue. In the opening year, with the external environment full of uncertainties, internal certainty is increasingly precious. Using the certainty of stable domestic production and supply to offset the uncertainty of the international environment 鈥?this is the choice China has made. These modern grain depots of Sinograin are the micro-level landing points of this strategy. Technology empowers. Nitrogen-controlled atmosphere, intelligent sampling and inspection, online monitoring 鈥?pressing down losses and safeguarding quality. Institutions provide support. Central reserves and local reserves form multiple layers of ballast; separation of sampling and inspection and blind sample testing prevent and control risks. The torch is passed on. From the 鈥淓ighteen Pathbreakers鈥?to the 鈥淎n Zhiming Innovation Studio,鈥?as long as grain storage workers are there, the commitment to protect grain is there. Across the country, countless central grain reserve depots like those in Yutian, Qinhuangdao, and Tangshan are spread out like stars, forming the 鈥渂allast stone鈥?of the national grain reserve.
Walking through the land of Yan and Zhao, one can touch the pulsing heartbeat of the major-country granaries. Looking at China in the opening year, the answer may be hidden in these silent grain warehouses. With technology, institutions, and a determination not to let a single grain spoil, the rice bowl of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people is firmly held in their own hands. Corridors shuttle and silos stand in clusters, with automated corridors realizing 鈥渘o-ground-contact鈥?grain transfer. Photo by Zhu Malie
When the granaries are full, the world is at peace. The warehouse clusters are silent. What they hold is the confidence of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people.
Comments