•Ningyang cricketNingyang cricket

-----by Chen Xuekui-----by Chen Xuekui

Wellcom to Ningyang -----my hometown

Ningyang scnery

My high school No.1 Middle school of Ningyang

Sidian ,Ninyang,Shandong,China

•中国蟋蟀第一镇• 中国，山东省，宁阳县，

• 泗店镇

http://trip-map.cn/shandong/ditu.htm

introduction 泗店镇简介• 泗店镇位于宁阳县境西南部，北接宁阳镇、东邻乡饮乡、

西连东疏镇、南与兖州市接壤。面积 54.03 平方公里，耕地面积 3826 公顷， 4.3 万人

• 　　泗店蟋蟀　　 泗店镇是中华蟋蟀文化的发祥地。泗店蟋蟀以个头大、性情烈、弹跳力强、搏斗凶狠而驰名中外，被誉为“江北第一虫”。自宋朝起奉为皇家贡品，至元、明、清三代不衰。 '99 中华蟋蟀友谊大赛，泗店蟋蟀力克群雄，囊括冠亚军荣誉称号，泗店蟋蟀有青黄紫红黑五大类近百个品种，载入古谱的名贵品种有大黑青牙、蟹壳青、青麻头、铁头青背、琥珀青、黑头金赤、紫黄等。蟋蟀上市的黄金季节是立秋至秋分。长达 20公里的蟋蟀交易市场上分布着上万处摊点，吸引了数万名 全国各地的蟋蟀爱好者。蟋蟀节期间，市场总成交额达几千万元。

This is cricket

http://hi.baidu.com/%E9%92%A2%E9%94%89%E5%B0%86%E5%86%9B/album/item/565d4f0e931067c637d122e5.html

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A huge cricket

history

• Raising crickets is a traditional Chinese hobby. According to historical records from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), imperial concubines put crickets in small gold cages and took them to bed to hear their singing during the night. Ordinary people later followed what they considered a graceful hobby.

• The activity was still flourishing during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), when the imperial family, city residents, village people and scholars all feverishly collected crickets every summer.

Popularity continuePopularity continue

• Now many people are still addicted to raising these fascinating insects, which can both sing and fight. It is estimated by www.xishuai.net, a national cricket website, that there are about 10 million people raising crickets from July to November each year, when the insects reach maturity.

Catching cricket

Solitarycreature （独居的生灵）

•they are solitary creatures that live underground. If two male crickets meet in the same place, they fight each other.

• Although only the males fight, cricket dealers also sell females to accompany the fierce fighters. On the market, a female cricket sells for just 1 yuan (12 US cents), and some experienced collectors can find over 100 a night

Expensive fighters 身价不菲的斗士

• Fu saw with his own eyes how the price of one cricket rose from 180 yuan (US$22) to 8,000 yuan (US$967) in about 40 minutes - and it was not even the best one.

• In 1999, a cricket called "King of the Insects" was priced at 100,000 yuan (US$12,000) in Shandong Province.

cricket gambling ----Illegal game

• According to Huang there are a number of people who live entirely off the income derived from cricket gambling, although the activity is illegal. Stakes can range from thousands of yuan to tens of thousands, all in cash.

Bed mate ( 窗头伴侣 )

• in the current cycle of cricket fighting, it is quite common to hear such stories: for some men, the adored creature who shares their bed each night is their champion cricket rather than their wife.

real warriors( 真正的勇士 )

• Although some simply enjoy the insects' beautiful singing, for most cricket fans, fighting is the supreme goal. This also helps to explain how the activity has lasted so many years.

• "Cricket fighting is really exciting!" Before putting the two insects in one box, they should be weighed just like boxers. People then use yard grass stalks to stimulate the insects to fight.

Have you ever seen a cricket fighting?

Cricket fighting( 斗蟋 )

clapboard( 隔板 )

• Generally speaking, the competition will be finished after a few minutes. But in the case of some resolute and powerful crickets, the contest might last half an hour or even 45 minutes.

• "The two insects will bite each other with their powerful jaws. Sometimes, all of their legs are bitten off, yet they still jump and bite until death,". "They are real warriors."

Good business

• In Ningyang County of Shandong Province, the cricket business is the main income of local people who are still poor.

• Crickets have become a industry in some places. "Want riches? Look for the cricket king", goes a saying of the local people.

Report of “the king cricket”

• Farmers from eight to 80 are all busy collecting crickets in the field. In Sidian, of the same county, 80 per cent of farmers worked in the cricket business, supporting over 3,000 hotels, and 2,000 village people working in the specialized occupation of cricket transportation.

• After this busy season, a family may have earned over 10,000 yuan (US$1,210), which provides their main income for the year.

trade cricket

Chinese Peasants Make Profits from Crickets

• A cricket was sold for the stunning price of 18,000 yuan (US$2,000) in Ningyang County in East China's Shandong Province recently.

The Chinese cricket is known for its bellicosity and recognized as China's first insect. There were cricket fights back in the Tang and Song Dynasties more than 1,000 years ago.

Crickets here in Ningyang County are big in size and good at fighting. The place has thus become the country's biggest market for these insects and has reported over 100 million yuan (US$12 million) in revenue related to this new industry.

A research center and a club have been established here for the crickets. And an annual contest has become part of the International Tai Mountain Climbing Festival.

Ningyang crickets are also sold to the United States, Canada and other countries.

Thank you

•Thank you!