Flower, Bird, Fish, and Insect Market

I have been remiss updating this blog. There's a lot I want to write about. I'm going to start with yesterday and work my way back until I'm caught up. I'm a bit sleepy right now as I answered a telemarketing call at 3:45A. The man on the other end was calling on behalf of the Wall Street Journal and was entirely too cheerful. I informed him that we were in China and that it was the middle of the night. He sounded quite excited at that and asked me what we were doing in China. I replied that we were sleeping. That's what we're doing in China.

Yesterday I visited the Flower, Bird, Fish, and Insect Market. It's an covered market selling, not surprisingly, flowers, birds, fish, and insects. Walking through places like the Dong Tai Lu Antiques market (which, incidentally, is across the street from this place), you see many booths that have cricket cages strung from the ceiling amidst strings of beads and other merchandise for sale.



When I first heard the crickets chirping, I had no idea where the sound was coming from. Upon closer inspection, I saw the tiny cages and the creatures within. I suppose the cages aren't that tiny as the crickets are easily as long as my middle finger and perhaps as thick as my thumb. The Flower, Bird, Fish, and Insect Market is a place where you can buy these singing crickets as well as other pets and pet supplies. The building is fairly nondescript from the exterior and I had passed it before on the other side of the street without giving it a second thought. I had read about the place and decided to put a little effort into finding it. Once you're inside the door, you immediately know you're in the right place. The cacophony of hundreds of crickets chirping is almost deafening.

There are tables full of glass display cases of live crickets, crickets in cages, and all sorts of cricket paraphernalia.




Strung from the pipes crisscrossing overhead are wicker cages of crickets strung together into a sort of garland. From what I can determine, the cages appear to be woven around the crickets and food pushed in through the holes.



Walking further through the market you see other animals available for sale: goldfish, puppies, kittens, rabbits, song birds, ducklings, turtles. I even saw a cage with a couple of chipmunks in it. Alongside the pets, animal food of all kinds, including tubs of writhing grubs, is for sale as are food dishes, collars, and other accessories.

Supposedly, this place also hosts cricket fights. I have no idea when these occur or what it must be like to sic 2 crickets on each other.

Also seen:
A mynah bird croaking 'Ni hao! Ni hao!' (Hello! Hello!)

A refrigerator on a bike. Truly anything and everything can be and is hauled by bicycle.




A man using a chopstick to pin a snake in a cage and then using a scissors to cut its jugular. I presume it was destined for the cooking pot.




Women rolling out dumpling wrappers on a metal table out on the sidewalk.




A street-side fish display. I've never seen so much seafood variety. Another street over seemed to consist solely of crayfish vendors.




Life here isn't contained inside buildings but spills out to encompass the sidewalks and streets. I suppose it's especially true in the summer when temperatures soar inside.