Large ruminant production systems in China have been subject to significant changes during the last 30 years driven by the economical boom in China. This change in the dairy sector led to a fast increase in milk production and consequently a high increase in CH4 emission from dairy cattle from 1988 to 2009. The same period also saw an increase in CH4 emissions from beef cattle, and a consistent decrease from buffaloes and yaks. Beef cattle were main emitters which produced almost 2/3 of total national CH4 emissions in the ruminant production sector in 2009, followed by dairy cattle (17.8%), buffaloes (10.3%) and yaks (8.1%). These changes resulted in an increase in total CH4 emission inventory for all 4 species of large ruminants by 28% from 1988 to 2009. There was a large difference in provincial contribution to national CH4 emission inventories in China. These data provide benchmark information for Chinese authorities to develop appropriate policies and mitigation strategies to reduce carbon footprint in the large ruminant production sector in China.