Strange food contined.
Probably the strangest (to me) thing I have seen in a supermarket in China was this. 鳄鱼 - è yú - alligator. I have eaten alligator steaks as people do in many places and liked them, but I'd never seen the beast like this. You'll notice the butcher is removing the head. This is considered medically beneficial and is the most desirable (and expensive) part.
They only ever had two, then went back to selling pork, beef and lamb. Alligator is now on the banned list.
Another popular meat in restaurants here is snake meat (蛇肉 - shé ròu). Again not for sale in supermarkets, but often in farmers' markets.
Snake Soup
This is often served at wedding banquets as it's thought to be an aid to fertility! It's also delicious. Again, snake is not only eaten in China, but everywhere there are people and snakes. However, the largest snake breeding project in the world is right here in Guangxi. Snake meat is not on the banned list.
to be re-continued after I have a rest!