Copyright: Aske Munck
Despite its appearance as a top modern metropolis Guangzhou cannot shake its ancient Cantonese past, nor does it seem to want to. And if you really want to experience the real Chinese roots and see past the glitzy malls and high rise emporiums, you should head for the notorious Quingping Market just north of Shamian Island.
Here you'll find every possible ingredient you ever needed (or never knew existed) to perform traditional Chinese medicine from bizarrely smelling herbs and mushrooms to all sorts of dried insects, reptiles and small animals.
Copyright: Aske Munck
The merchants are just opening their shops as we stroll down the main street Quingpin Lu. The ubiquitous Chinese sound of people clearing their throats and airways of a good nights rest fill the street along with the rattling noise from carts ensuring the morning delivery of fresh supplies.
A man squatting in the side of the street is chopping off the head and feet of a middle sized tortoise before splitting open its shell and gutting it completely, colouring the pavement bright red, as he sifts through its intestines.
Copyright: Aske Munck
In the adjoining shops you can find virtually everything on display: dried full size snakeskin, desiccated deer hoofs and parched lizards on a stick, allegedly good for the immune system if soaked in water (but I'll take a small bout of flu anytime).
One of the stall sells fungi that will enhance your memory, and another has an impressive display of huge deer antlers that will stimulate your blood circulation, if ground to a powder and ingested, one of the merchants tells us.
Copyright: Aske Munck
Right next to him a small stall sells live scorpions (apparently good against migraines and rheumatisms). Huge plastics tubs are teeming with thousands of squirming insects, raising their tails in a vain attempt to threaten each other with their poisonous claws. Quingping has a remedy for everything.
Although the local authorities cleaned up the market and banned the selling of live dogs, cats, bats and monkeys, notably after the SARS epidemic in 2003, the market is still not considered a tourist attraction. Quite the contrary - especially for the squeamish.
Copyright: Aske Munck
On the other hand, visiting tourists who take offence by the obvious disregard for endangered species on sale like sea horses or tiger paws (if that was what it really was), are probably the only means to persuade the Chinese authorities to take steps to end the illegal trade in species threatened by extinction.
QUINGPING MARKET; around Quingping Lu, Quingping Schichang and Liu'ersan Lu, Guangzhou.