Abstract: Research on pasture resources in Northwest China in modern times represents the highest level of pasture science and technology, but few studies have tried to place current research in a wider context. In this study, we searched current and historical literature, using modern newspapers and periodicals as the main sources of information, and summarized the main achievements of modern pasture science and technology in China. Researchers and government officials have studied pasture resources in the Northwest China since the early 1930s. Research in Shaanxi Province has mainly been botanical studies on plant classification and the characteristics of herbage. Studies on soil and water conservation were mainly concentrated in Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai provinces, and generally aimed to identify high-quality grass species that favored soil and water conservation. Studies on the role of herbage in animal husbandry focused on the distribution, varieties, quality, and storage of different types of herbage. The introduction of forage was another major area of research and achievement in northwest China. Many scholars such as Wang Dong and Ye Pei-zhong used the theories of western experimental science to conduct many forage cultivation experiments. At the same time, scientists in northwest China pioneered experimental research on the nutrition, preservation, and breeding of forage resources, many of which were the only ones in the country at that time. Forage grass science and technology have been promoted in northwest China, and the main areas of research have been resource characterization and the cultivation, breeding, and preservation of herbage.

Key words: Northwest China, herbage resources, The Republic of China, experimental study