A cricket lover displays his pet possession at a market in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province on Wednesday. /Chinanews Photo

The business of cricket fighting is picking up after the summer in east China. It has become an important source of income for local farmers. "Last year, a villager in Cao Village sold one for 15,000 yuan (2,250 US dollars), and another one from the same village sold for 50,000 yuan (,7500 US dollars) this year,” a local farmer said. /Chinanews Photo

According to Hu Weifeng, the village chief of Liugou Village, nearly all its 225 residents are engaged in catching and selling of crickets. Every family could earn an average of about 10,000 yuan (1,500 US dollars) a year by selling crickets. /Chinanews Photo

In Chinese tradition, a cricket is considered a sign of good luck. The belief may be linked to the influx of crickets into fields every spring, which farmers saw as a sign for the right time for sowing. /Chinanews Photo