Shen Zhu

[1] Pigs are fattened in a process similar to gavage to make them as large as possible in preparation for contests and awards at the festival.

The winning pig and other pigs entered into the contest are ritually killed as a sacrifice to the City God or a local deity, one popular temple that continues this tradition is Changfu Temple which is dedicated to the deified Buddhist monk Master Qingshui.

However, contrary to popular belief, the pig is not sacrificed to Master Qingshui, but to the mountain deities.

After being sacrificed, the hair of the winning pig is removed or the bristles shaved into patterns, and the skin is stretched across a metal frame.

[3][4] In urban areas with no access to farms housing such large animals, or places where objections based on cruelty to the pigs have been raised, the contests instead have become art projects for children to create decorated pig statues.