Farmers of central China's Henan province blocked a highway to protest against a real estate development company who damaged farmland and injured five farmers in a conflict on Thursday.

The property development company named "Changcheng" or "Great Wall" used seven tractor shovels and three trucks to pull down trees and destroy farmland of Yangzhuang village, Changyuan county at midnight Thursday and beat up farmers who tried to stop them, according to the villagers.

The injured farmers, including two seriously hurt, have been hospitalized.

The farmers blocked the provincial highway 308 at around 6 a.m. and demanded that the people responsible be punished.

"We found the developers wanted to seize our land by damaging our crops at midnight and we tried to stop them. Then they ordered their hired thugs to beat us up," said a farmer in anonymity.

The same company destroyed 100 mu (66,667 square meters) of arable land in Luozhentun village and 30 mu (20,000 square meters) in Kongchang village by force one month ago, said the farmer.

Villagers used three trees cut down by developers to block the highway and held a banner reading "Protect our farmland, protect farmers, and punish the perpetrators behind the scene."

The provincial highway remained blocked as of 5 p.m.